Contemptor Savior
by GreenDo
Summary: After a hellish battle against the Iron Warriors, an Iron Hands Contemptor Dreadnought, known as "The Iron Sarcophagus" is on the brink of death, but before the void can claim the ancient warrior, fate intervenes, after all, In The Grim Darkness Of The Far Future, There is Only War...
1. Glory to Mankind

_M41: 841_

 _Designation: Forge World Beraileah_

"IRON WITH-"

 **[+ Be Judged +]**

A squirming Chaos Space Marine roared in anger as it was burned alive under the hold of an Iron Hands Contemptor Dreadnought known to its Battle Brothers as "The Iron Sarcophagus" though most Iron Hands engaged the enemies without the roars of battle, fighting in a chilling silence, The Iron Sarcophagus made sure to remind the Heretic, the Xenos and the Mutant, of the crime which is their very existence, baptised in the holy fires of the Flamer mounted on the underside of the Dreadnoughts gauntlet, the misguided Space Marine soon stopped struggling now nothing but a smouldering pile of ashes.

The Iron Sarcophagus glanced around, the iconic sound of Bolters ripped across the battlefield from and to both sides of the conflict, yet there was also the sharp shrill of plasma directed at the advancing horde of Chaos Scum, courtesy of the Adeptus Mechanicus who had joined the Iron Hands in spear heading the assault, an ancient accord of respect and common interests forming a bond between the two sub-factions of the Imperium of Man, sadly, casualties were stacking on the side of the Imperium, the Chaos Space Marines all individually had millennia of experience, worse though, they were bearing the banner of the Iron Warriors, a dreaded legion who had dabbled in fusing the Machine and the Daemon, something which was an unforgivable crime against the Omnissiah and the Emperor, and would be punished with extreme prejudice.

Chaos Space Marines may have millennia of experience... But so did the Dreadnought.

Spinning up his Assault Cannon The Iron Sarcophagus let loose across the battlefield, marching forward besides a Rhino and a Dunecrawler, making a push on the Iron Warriors front lines, The Iron Sarcophagus voiced a quick and simple transmission through his Vox to the Rhino, noticing that it was taking a heavy beating, Rhinos were primarily Troop Transports, it would be suicide crossing the frontlines without them, and thus, it was imperative to the mission that they succesfully broke through the first lines of defense, giving standard infantry a foothold on the battlefield.

The Rhinos exhaust roared as it sped up in order to remain directly behind The Iron Sarcophagus, the Dreadnought now being subjected to the blistering wave of bullets, though, the effort was fruitless, as they harmlessly vaporised when passing through the Contemptor's Void Shield, seeing this maneuver, the allied Dunecrawler briefly slowed down, positioning itself to shield the Rhino's rear.

With The Iron Sarcophogus on point, and the Dunecrawler at the rear, the Rhino stood a much better chance of breaching, smoke covered most the battlefield, fire unending in every direction, vicious artillery bombarded at seemingly random, creating deep craters slowly filling with the blood of traitors, and yet a few metres away, the Dreadnought could make out the outline of a trench, thus was their destination. The more they neared, the heavier the barrage of fire became, this was the moment which changed the tide of a battle, the moment this world would finally have the chance to free itself of chaotic taint, all was going well until The Iron Sarcophagus heard a disgusting roar, the very sound of it was wrong, whatever creature it belonged to, was an abomination which needed to be purged.

Halting, The Iron Sarcophagus heard the stomps of a beast through the smoke, he had enough experience with Daemons to know what that dreaded sound was, quickly activating his Vox, he ordered the Rhino to briefly fall back, a maneuver which took a nerve racking amount of time as it had to clear away from the Dunecrawler, luckily, they weren't under much fire anymore, the cowardly Iron Warriors most likely retreating as the beast marched through. The stomping was getting ever closer, in the ten millennia that The Iron Sarcophagus had been interred into the Dreadnought, he had fought it all, the Orks, the Eldar, the Tau, the Tyranids and Chaos, but nothing was a greater threat then what was stomping through that smoke.

The Maulerfiend roared as it charged headfirst into The Iron Sarcophagus, knocking the ancient Dreadnought back, before it could go in for another blow the Dunecrawler fired back at the Daemon Engine with its Eradication Beamer, scoring a direct hit to the beasts chest, as the Dreadnought regained his balance, it saw how warp energies were leaking forth from the beast's wound, Maulerfiends were infamous for tearing Dreadnoughts limb from limb, slowly eating the immobilised and incapacitated pilots of the ancient Walkers.

Changing targets, the Maulerfiend rammed the Dunecrawler, disabling one of its legs and flipping the tank, before its Powerclaws could maul the crew the Daemon Engine felt itself being yanked back, and sure enough, The Iron Sarcophagus had grabbed the Maulerfiend by its many whip like appenges, spinning up his assault cannon, and sprayed the Maulerfiend with a flurry of bullets in its face, taking out one of its eyes. Roaring that ungodly sound in pain the Iron Sarcophagus revved its Powerfist back and strikes deeply into the Maulerfiends damaged chest, shooting off its underside flamer, inside the beast causing the various warp energies to shift and spill onto the floors.

Struggling free, the undying Maulerfiend leaped backwards, heavily incapacitated, and charged once more into The Iron Sarcophagus, knocking the Contemptor Dreadnought onto its back and dripping warp energies onto the chassis, with a victory like grunt, The Iron Sarcophagus grunted in pain as one of its Powerclaws directly went through his armour, damaging his already crippled body, ragged breathing came from within the Dreadnoughts helmet, his situation was looking very grim, overpowered by an abomination, Ferrus Mannus would be displeased, that would not stand.

Roaring, The Iron Sarcophagus lifted his arm jabbed the Daemon Engine right in the neck with his Powerfist, causing the creature to double over in pain, though not for long, as it quickly retaliated by ramming the Dreadnought again, but this time, The Iron Sarcophagus was ready, digging his feet into the earth, he timed the Mauler's run up, and with robotic like precision, punched it square in the head, it roared in pain as it doubled over on the floor. Taking the initiative to end the fight the Dreadnought clambered over, and with a mighty stomp, crushed the Daemon Engines head under his metal foot, killing the beast for good.

The Iron Sarcophagus kneeled over in pain, his already fragile body had taken a blow, even for an Astartes, this was serious, Dreadnoughts were made so that Space Marines close to death could continue fighting, however, what was left of them often made for a easy kill on a exposed Dreadnought, The Iron Sarcophagus felt really weak, and looking down, he saw what he had not saw for millennia, his blood, covering the puncture with his giant robotic hand, he estimated that, as an Astartes, his body could still repair what's left of it, but he would need the assistance of an Apothecary to properly seal it. The Dreadnought should keep him alive until then.

Hearing the loud rumbling of an exhaust the Dreadnought saw the Rhino he had ordered to fall back earlier pull up besides him, disembarking from it he saw many Battle Brothers of the Iron Hands, surrounding the wounded Dreadnought in a defensive formation, the squads sergeant, as indicated by the red helmet kneeled before the Dreadnought.

"My lord, we have sent for an Apothecary and a Techpriest, they shall soon be hear to tend to your wounds" The Sargent declared, keeping his marines, and Rhino covering The Iron Sarcophagus, he stood, Boltpistol and Chainsword in hand, and began barking orders to his underlings, looking down again he saw the warp energies which had spilled out earlier from the Maulers corpse were radiating electricity as it mixed with the the Iron Sarcophagus's blood, the Sargent noticed this as well, and quickly yelled out.

"RUN"

But the Dreadnought could not run, to wounded, The Iron Sarcophagus just about managed to stand as a brilliant detonation of warp energies ripped across Space-Time in vivid colours of Red, Blue, Green and Purple, accompanied by the horrendous screams of the warp.

The Sargent was LIVID, many of his Battle Brothers looked on with masked rage, such a cowardly tactic utilized by the Traitors, to kill such an ancient and beautiful machine was an unforgivable atrocity.

He would skew the head of the Warp Smith who manufactured that Daemon.

...

M?: ?¿ [ERROR: 9099: Failure to match Temporal shift)

Designation: ? [ERROR: 5688: Failure to match Geological shift)

When he awoke, The Iron Sarcophagus still felt weak, yet by some miracle, the Dreadnought had kept him stable through the explosion, the puncture in the Sarcophaguses' Torso was drenched in dried blood, the ancient internal alarms of the Dreadnought briefly sounded to warn those nearby that it was in a critical condition. There were other alarms as well, yes, these were more like sirens, opening his tired and aged eyes, the Dreadnought did not recognise his surroundings, a calm, rising sun littered the radiant sky, the many clouds did not bend and shift with the warp, rather, they stayed constant, slowly drifting across the expanse of the skyline, undamaged buildings made of diffrent architecture then that of the besieged Forge World, windows without stained glass, wooden, primitive doors, all of it came together to make a street, small automobiles were parked neatly on either side.

This meant that by some miracle, the Warp, rather then digesting him, had violently spit out The Iron Sarcophagus, though, this wasn't exactly favourable, he could quite literally be, anywhere, he had yet to see a human, what if this was a Xeno planet? He'd have to go on a violent killing spree until either the entire species was exterminated or he himself perished in the fires of battle, a fate he'd narrowly avoided by an impossible percentage.

Gathering his strength the Dreadnoughts hydraulics sprung to life and the Contemptor Dreadnought rose to full height, being about half the size of these houses which seemed to have two stories, his feet made the ground tremble as he began walking forwards, it was early morning, so if there was any humans, many would still be asleep, it was confusing to the Iron Sarcophagus, many of the structures were built the same, the only differential feature was colour, dark pallets adorned the houses on every street, eventually, he saw a dark figure at the end of the street stare at him before rounding the corner.

 **[+Halt!+]**

The Iron Sarcophagus' order fell on death ears as the corner remained vacant, breathing a tired sigh, The Iron Sarcophagus marched foward, his steps once again shaking the earth he crossed, quickly rounding the corner, The Iron Sarcophagus caught a better glance at the fleeing figure, they were wearing a white cloak, even at this distance he could feel a weird energy from them, a Psyker perhaps? Or maybe it was an Eldar? Luring him into a trap. While they were still in his sights, The Iron Sarcophagus stopped and spun his Assault Cannon, its internal motor spinning the barrels making a comforting, familiar sound to the Dreadnought, the figure seemed to understand the situation as they stopped, back turned to the Dreadnought.

 **[+This is your only warning, identify yourself or you will be fired upon+]**

The Iron Sarcophagus was weary as the figure turned around, he was watching the corners of his vision for any kind of sneak attack, the insides of her cloak were red, a hood concealing her face, her skin has a paleness to match the Iron Hands when they finally took off their armour, strands of red hair peeked out from under her hood, the cloak itself seemed to be quite worn, there were tears all over it, the more you looked at it, the more damages it seemed to display.

"Summer...Summer Rose"

The figure whispered under her breath, her voice seemed quite gentle, she was definitely human, the Eldar sound to snarly, Emperor it felt great to shut them up, Summer inclined her head sideways when The Iron Sarcophagus did not reply, shaking his head and stopping his Assault Cannon, the Dreadnought would finally receive some answers.

 **[+Why did you flee Citizen?+]**

Summer arched her head up to look directly into the lenses of the Dreadnoughts helmet, clenching her fist, and raising her voice she spoke.

"My daughters are in danger...I was hoping you could maybe..."

 **[+Help them?+]**

"...Yes"

 **[+So be it, fear not Summer Rose, for I am a Dreadnought of the Adeptus Astartes Iron Hands, Son of Ferrus Mannus, and defendant of Humanity, show me the enemy, and I shall make them repent+]**

"...Thank you"

Summer once again turned her back and ran. The Iron Sarcophagus stomped after her, by now a few citizens had came out, and were staring in shock as the hulking machine ran down the streets, its design extremely different from anything Atlas could develop, the ground once again shaking, causing many Automobile alarms to be set off.

The Iron Sarcophagus regretted potentially damaging the machines, but he had a purpose to fulfill, during the Great Crusade, Ferrus had told them, man over machine, a saying which had fallen out of use with almost the whole chapter, The Iron Sarcophagus however, would always remember and pass on their Primarchs teachings.

Soon the two arrived in some sort of courtyard, a blockaded tunnel with various warning lights stood before them, The Iron Sarcophagus spotted no humans around which seemed to be in danger, he looked down at Summer, only to find she had went missing, getting nervous, he spun up his Assault Cannon, he felt something was amiss here, and then he felt it. The Iron Sarcophagus could feel the earth vibrating as his joints shook, it was coming from the tunnel directly in front of him, The Iron Sarcophagus simply sidestepped as all hell broke loose.

Out the tunnel came a roaring train, smashing through the blockade, humans were running faster then a single Cadian in a squad of Comissars, as it detached from the rails, many pieces of the train began impacting into the weirdly built structures, thanks to the velocity at which the machine was traveling many buildings straight up collapsed, causing a thick cloud of debris to cover the area, fire had erupted from the train, and then he heard someone screaming, his helmets optical sensors quickly allowed the Dreadnought to pin point the distressed human, finding a young man being bitten in the leg by a strange black creature, The Iron Sarcophagus did not hesitate.

Running over the Dreadnought picked up the strange creature by the torso, which looked somewhat like Fenris's Thunderwolves, and simply clenched his fist, completely mauling whatever was inside the beats abominable chest, the young man stared in awe at The Iron Sarcophagus who looked down at the young man.

 **[+Seek safety or perish+]**

The young man simply nodded and took off hobbling, clutching his bloody leg as he went along, the Dreadnought watched him leave, making sure nothing else tried to end the mans life, once he left, The Iron Sarcophagus saw many of the dark creatures running around, the smell of blood littered the air, they wanted to feed on humanity, but its funny how the hunters can become the hunted. The Contemtor Dreadnought let loose the full power of the revered Assault Cannon, its six barrels letting loose a maelstrom of bullets through the clouds, hearing the dark creatures double over and die, their flesh is weak.

Marching though the clouds he began to hear other gunfire, the PDF most likely, it annoyed The Iron Sarcophagus that the creatures were ignoring him, he was actively seeking them out, burning, punching and shooting his way through the dark mob, eventually the crowd dwindled, and out from the tunnel, came a six legged creature, a long crescent sharp tail with a glowing tip, orange dark eyes, and a strong set of mandibles with two large claws all covered in the same bone white armour, it came right for the Dreadnought.

The two squared up to each other, the dark creature flexed its strength by halving one of the train carts with a simple swipe of its tail, The Iron Sarcophagus clenched his powerfist, it began cracking to life as a blue aura surrounded the fist and sparks cackled around it, and before another bullet could fly, the two charged at each other, the dark creature launched its stinger but let out a screech of pain as the Dreadnought caught it, and like with the smaller creature, crushed it under his fist. The creature then tried then to attack with its claws, but alas, it could not even dent the armour of The Iron Sarcophagus, backing away, it once again tried its now damaged stinger, this time, it managed to get right into the Dreadnoughts puncture, it almost put the final nail in The Iron Sarcophagus' coffin, but the Contemptor Dreadnought caught it, and using his foot as leverage, ripped off the creatures stinger, as it rolled on the floor in pain the Dreadnought began beating the thing with its own stinger until it was nothing but mush, shooting his Assault Cannon, The Iron Sarcophagus incapacitated the creature by shooting out its legs, as it lay on the floor screeching, The Iron Sarcophagus walked off.

By now the battle seemed to be over, he couldn't hear much gunfire, that, or the PDF was overwhelmed, still The Sarcophagus still had one thing to do, walking over to a the halved traincart, the Contemptor Dreadnought pushed his systems to the max as he picked it up, going as far to use his Assault Cannon as a makeshift Hand, walking back to his opponent, it was barely alive, its legs couldn't save it from the looming Dreadnought, as The Iron Sarcophagus stood over it, he stared it in the eyes before bringing down retribution.

He smashed the cart right into the creatures spine, the cart broke under the pressure, but The Iron Sarcophagus could see the fruits of his work, the bone armour had cracked causing the creature to die, revving his flamer. The Iron Sarcophagus simply watched in satisfaction as his prey burned, after all, the flesh is weak.

The tunnel had been blocked off now, and as he walked through the smoke, The Dreadnought saw all manners of people looking at him in awe, in fear, and in confusion, weird machines which reminded him of the Tau Battlesuits aimed their weapons at him, what was going on here?

The Iron Sarcophogus aimed his weapons back, the citizens looked on in fear, terrified, to watch these giants fight, though he was smaller, his armour and Powerfist would ensure a victory, not to mention, his void shield would protect him long enough to get in close combat, he wasn't scared, he was an Astartes, and he would purge the Mutant, the Xenos, The Heretic.

"WHATEVER YOU ARE, STAND DOWN, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST ON SUSPICION OF TERRORISM"

 **[+Negative, I have the capabilities to destroy everything in the immediate vicinity, you will not issue orders to a Astartes, you will stand down+]**

Everything got tenser after the Dreadnought uttered those words, it seemed like conflict was inevitable, it was a standoff, neither faction was willing to back down, until a man in a green suit and grey hair walked into the view of the Contemptor Dreadnought.

"Enough!"

His voice was firm and unwavering, The Iron Sarcophagus could respect that, it wasn't a question, it was a demand, and to his surprise, the Battlesuits lowered their weapons, so they weren't Tau, they would never accept human orders, seeing no immediate threat, The Dreadnought also lowered his weapons, many humans in the crowd looked relieved there would be no further bloodshed.

"This contraption isn't the cause of the breach, I've received word that the White Fang masterminded this tragedy, I advise all citizens to return to there homes until further instructions, for those whose homes were destroyed, relief camps will be established, everyone now just needs to remain calm, I assure you all that we are taking this attack seriously"

After the man announced this, many citizens cleared away, but not before point a weird device at the Dreadnought before leaving, looking at the man before him, he saw how he seemed nervous in front of the Dreadnought, he was just really good at hiding it.

"So...what are you?"

 **[+I am a Dreadnought of the Adeptus Astartes Space Marines+]**

"Space as in...the one above us?"

 **[+That is correct+]**

"And what are you doing here specifically?"

 **[+I was sent here+]**

"By who?"

 **[+ By Summer Rose +]**

The Iron Sarcophagus noted that the man went extremely pale when he said that name.

 _-Chapter 1 - END-_


	2. Awakening

**M?.?**

 **Designation: ?**

 **[+ Do you require medical aid? +]**

"No, I'm fine...can you tell me where she is now?"

 **[+ Negative +]**

The Iron Sarcophagus was perplexed at how casually the human was addressing an Astartes, most humans look upon them with nervousness, recognition and in some rarer cases, jealously, such was the reputation of the Space Marines, though he would never admit it, the Dreadnought found the experience of simple conversation refreshing, but conversation was a gift not permitted to the Iron Hands, if a simple yes or no could suffice, that is all that would be said. The man in question wasn't as old as his appearance initially gave off, his face still had hints of youth mixed in with a maturity you would see inside a Imperial Guardsmen Commander, he seemed to slightly lean on a cane made of silver, curiously, it had a trigger attached to it. The Iron Sarcophagus had never seen a weapon like this before, perhaps it was an ancient design native to this world? If such was the case, the Adeptus Mechanicus would need to be made aware of its existence. The Dreadnought was brought forth from his thoughts by the man bringing fourth his hand with an open palm, the gesture of a handshake.

"Ozpin" the now named human declared, leaving his hand outstretched for the behemoth.

 **[+ The Iron Sarcophagus, that is my title, that is all I am +]**

The Contemptor Dreadnought refused to shake the humans hand, it was not a gesture of disrespect, in a regime as fragile as The Imperium of Man, one of the main factors keeping humanity together was fear, if humans witnessed a Dreadnought of a Chapter as merciless an the Iron Hands performing such a humble gesture it would surely work to damage the Chapter's reputation, though it was the very purpose of a Space Marine to inspire hope and safeguard humanity (a sentiment not shared by many Astartes), there was a time and place for actions, and now was not a time to be making merry with the population.

Ozpin merely retracted his hand, showing no interest in the refusal of the gesture, he seemed unsure how to continue the conversation. Deciding to take the initiative, The Iron Sarcophagus inquired about his purpose at the battlegrounds.

 **[+ Summer Rose, she requested of me that I protect her daughters from danger, and while I successfully banished those creatures, I have yet to verify that they remain unharmed. Secondly, I require a Adeptus Mechanicus Tech Priest immediately +]**

At this a knowing smile accompanied Ozpin's features, the man obviously let on that he was somewhat knowledgeable on the question.

"While I have no clue what a Tech Priest could be, I can however confirm for you Summer Rose's Daughters survived the breach, and I must say their skills in combat today were exceptional"

The Iron Sarcophagus remained silent after this statement, so the daughters are part of the PDF? if so, what had been the purpose of the request? Were the Planetary Defence Force so incompetent that people would rather turn to an outsider for aid? This was troubling, no, Ozpin had said that they performed well in combat, ergo, maybe those creatures inspire a certain fear in the populace? The Dreadnought was at a loss. There was also the matter of no Tech Priest or Apothecary, the blow caused by the Daemon Engine was deep, deep enough to cause damage to The Iron Sarcophagus' mortal body, he needed to find a solution, the Dreadnought had so far stabilised him, but it would not be able to uphold this for long, it was temporary life support, and it would eventually fail.

 **[+ I require a message to be broadcast via your Astropaths to the nearest Space Marine fleet +]**

"I'm sorry, but these terms your using...I'm unsure what they are, Tech Priest? Astropathic Choir? Your not providing much context" Ozpins face was now one of confusion, it was a stretch believing this man had came from space, sure enough, the walker he inhabited was alien in design, and his weapons were something beyond yet similar to what Remnant possessed.

 **[+ This is a planet belonging to the Imperium correct? Humans inhabit it? Yes? Yes, so I ask you again, Ozpin, please hail the nearest Space Marine fleet, time is of the essence and my patience grows thin +]**

And with one word, spoken in a confused tone, Ozpin changed the Dreadnoughts perception of the planet.

"Imperium?"

Ruby Rose was not one for subtlety, she had proved that during the breach, she was accustomed to the roar of her weapons high calibre sniper rounds riddling her foes with bullet holes the size of tennis balls, indeed, Ruby's weapon was a marvel to behold, a transforming scythe and sniper hybrid, she had an everlasting love for weapons, from pistols to mechs. So it was when the creatures of Grimm breached Vale she let slip a relived sigh, happy that a clean cut enemy would finally feel the ferocity which was Crescent Rose.

And now, in the aftermath of the defence, she stood atop a mountain of Grimm corpses, all of which slowly dissolved, the wind gently flowed through her short dark red hair, calming the sweat which had been formulating upon her brow. Today had been a good day. She looked upon the damage inflicted by the creatures of Grimm with relief, it was a miracle that no people were killed, from her perspective, hundreds of Grimm made it through the breach, she could see clearly that her team's fighting styles complimented each other, she'd celebrate with them tonight with plenty of milk and cookies, even if they decline, it was her job as leader after all!

*BUZZ*

Suddenly, Ruby's scroll vibrated, signalling to her that she'd received a text message, reaching into a pocket in her blouse she held up the small rectangular device, a surprised look adorned her face as she realised it was sent by Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, quickly opening the message, she read the blunt and simple words.

{ Situation developed, come quick - Ozpin }

Taking that as her cue, Ruby leapt off the heap of dissolving Grimm corpses as she sheathed Crescent Rose, landing perfectly on the cracked pavement, she let slip a sigh, celebrations would have to wait, as she began to jog she quickly sent a message similar to Ozpin's to her three teammates, Weiss, Blake and Yang. Not bothering to wait for a reply she opened a different app on her scroll which displayed a map of the area, a blue trail between her scroll and Ozpin's. As she worked her way through across the courtyard, and the smoke began to clear, she could finally take in the full destruction of the place.

Building were toppled, cars wrecked, and the train had ended up in many places, including on top of a badly beaten Deathstalker, fires still wavered around the place, only clearing as she made her way towards Ozpin, though before she made it, a sickening sight made its way into her vision, in a large puddle of blood, stood a weird purplish creature with a weird bone white ribcage exposed, and a large bulbous like brain also seemingly exposed, but the worse part, was the creatures large glowing yellow eyes staring right at her before fleeing into the smoke, it was certainly no Grimm, but its very sight unnerved her, Ruby decided she'd bring it up with Ozpin.

Finally emerging from the smoke, Ruby immediately spotted the Headmaster, standing next to a seemingly new design of Atlas mechs, which immediately excited her, forgetting briefly her encounter with the strange creature, she quickly jogged over.

To The Iron Sarcophagus, Ozpin's words were as effective as dropping a bomb, no Imperium meant a lot of things to the Contemptor Dreadnought, no repairs, no backup, no hope, he was desperately fighting against an emotion he had long forgotten he held, Despair, he was a Space Marine, The Emperors finest, and yet, his fate had been sealed, a slow and dishonourable death through wounding, the very thought of it scared the Dreadnought, a forgotten relic upon a backwater world, a stain upon his Chapter's history. His only chance of redemption would be death in combat, against innumerable odds.

"...H-hey there mister"

The Iron Sarcophogus silently reprimanded himself for his internal distractions before facing the newcomer, a petit girl who seemed to wear a particular dress of red and black which went very well with her general appearance, though the most striking feature, was the fact that she had Summer's eyes, the Dreadnought knew immediately who this was, and for just a second, he was granted the respite of a feeling of triumph outweighing the internal wound which was causing the Dreadnought much grief.

 **[+ My greetings, Daughter of Summer Rose +]**

The Contemptor Dreadnought still did not understand the implications of that name, as immediately, the girl's eyes went wide and she unsheathed a scythe from a weird device which had been riding on her back, before pointing an unseen barrel right at The Contemptor Dreadnought. To her side, Ozpin reacted quickly, ordering the girl to stand down, beads of sweat quickly appearing on her forehead, her knuckles bone white on the weapons trigger.

Behind her, three more females appeared, each equally dressed in a some bright or eye catching colour, and for a second, the Dreadnought thought he'd found the Eldar, but no, upon closer inspection, it appeared they were just regular humans, they had puzzled looks upon their faces at the actions of the daughter. The Iron Sarcophagus really wasn't in the mood for any more fighting, he had to admit, the girl had courage, using a weapon as small as that against a Dreadnought.

 **[+ I hope you won't fire that weapon, little one, I hope you won't make me betray my word, and most of all, I hope you do not inadvertently cause more bloodshed today then needed +]**

To prove his point, The Iron Sarcophagus sent an influx of electricity to his Powerfist, the ancient weapon cracking to life with a bright blue aura, causing many humans to blink from the bright light.

 **[+ This weapon is known to us as a Powerfist, it can inflict such force even the sturdiest of structures can be penetrated by it, I doubt anything in your arsenal could match it, especially your mockeries of holy Imperial Knights +]**

Ruby Rose didn't flinch, she simply held her trusty weapon, there were many mysteries surrounding the death of Summer, the only concrete thing that was ever produced was that she one day never returned from her mission, many sleepless nights crying in Yang and Taiyang's arms were had when the news came in that Summer was presumed dead, and even though a tombstone was placed at her favourite spot, Ruby never truly believed her mother was dead. And that's why her knuckles were held on her weapons grip so adamantly, this giant provided the one thing the whole of Vytal couldn't give her. Answers.

"M-my mom, t-tell me about my mom"

At this demand, the girl in yellow, seemed to become interested in the standoff, and joined the side of the Rose, pointing a bright yellow gauntlet with a yellow colour scheme accompanying her appearance, The Iron Sarcophagus could only assume that this again was another insignificant weapon raised to somehow threaten the Dreadnought, it wasn't working, his pride as an Astartes raised him above the concept of fear.

 **[+ Daughter of Summer Rose, by raising a weapon against a Space Marine, you are implying that you wish to meet that warrior in combat, is this correct? +]**

"Wha-? No! tell me how you know my mom"

 **[+ I will not yield answers to those who use force to seek them, Rose +]**

Ruby was looking to Yang for reassurance that she needed, finding solace in the fact her sister had taken a similar stance, but the longer she held her weapon the more she felt it was redundant, Ozpin, Weiss and even Blake were all giving her and Yang disapproving looks, Yang herself seemed bothered by the onlookers, but was refusing to yield, much like Ruby, or so she wished. With a rather uncharacteristic cry of annoyance, Ruby threw Crescent Rose to the floor, seeing this reaction Yang was about stand down before a blur of rose petals filled her vision before seeing her little sister right in front of the large machine.

"Tell me"

 **[+ Very well, however I will take the liberty of showing the events of how I came to be here, as well as the event of meeting with your mother +]**

At this Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the Dreadnought and the Contemptor nodded at him in reply, acknowledging the man's need for a more detailed explanation of The Iron Sarcophagus's origins.

 **[+ What I am about to show you is a recording from Brother Lysandross, he who awoke me +]**

 _…_

 ** _M41.841_**

 ** _Designation: Orbiting Forge World Beraileah_**

 _The sound of ancient machinery filled a large hollow chamber as a single Space Marine, clad in a deep crimson coloured armour stood firm, his pauldrons showing loyalty to the Iron Hands, iconography and heraldry painted many deeds committed by this Marine, extra appendages wrought fourth from his back. Brother Lysandross was a Techmarine through and through. And yet, for all his knowledge on awakening machines, he couldn't help but tremble at the sight before him, an ancient Walker, its design long lost to history, stood suspended in hundreds of metal chains and was floating above the ground in a constant rocking motion. It was a scene of immense beauty, one which Lyandross would never forget as he still drew breath._

 _The room was a simple cube in shape, its size making Lysandross look dwarfed, ancient stone walls marked many great accomplishments in High Gothic, and yet, when looking upwards, there was no roof in sight, just vast chains protruding from the abyss and grabbing hold of the magnificent artefact, before it, lay a pedestal, written in words even a simpleton could understand thanks to its Low Gothic nature._

 _"_ _The Iron Sarcophagus, Failure of Mannus"_

 _Lysandross could barely contain himself as he spoke the name, he was unaware of what the Failure of Mannus could entail, such a title, he thought, was undeserving of the machine. Deciding that he gad gawked long enough he opened a single Vox channel inside his helmet and spoke two words which would bring the entire room to life._

 ** _"_** ** _Wake him"_**

 _Hundreds of stone bricks pushed out of the walls, a few almost hitting Lysandross, but never landing anywhere near the Machine, staring up he even witnessed the large stone bricks falling forth from the abyss which his gaze could not pierce, indeed, such an event caused tremors throughout the whole room, and for just a second, Lysandross had believed his end to be nigh._

 _As the tremors stopped Lysandross heard a faint buzzing noise, small blips of light appearing in the abyss above him, reminding the Techmarine of the stars him and his brothers conquer, more buzzing appeared around him, coming from the slots in the walls that were now missing their bricks, and much to Lysandross's surprise, a Servo-skull came through, a similar light entrenched in its eye socket, seemingly ignoring him, it flew upwards to join what was now revealed to be a mass of Servo-skulls_

 _Lysandross mused, there must have been hundreds of Servo-skulls in the crevices of these walls, as the skull shaped assistants poured in a near endless stream, floating above to join the ever growing mass, the Techmarine made note of how not all the skulls appeared human._

 _And then there was silence, the buzzing ended and the Servo-skull's seemed to float still, oblivious to what was going on around them, before a final stone brick pushed itself out from the floor, from the hole left behind, came a large silo, a weird device with a bulbous tip at the end jutted from the tip of the silo, the whole device radiated vast amounts of electricity, enough that merely being close to it was making Lysandross's power armour display warnings of influxes in its electrical subroutines, as the silo finished surfacing a single button became visible on the wall of it, pulsating with a deep green light._

 _Bracing himself by sending both a final prayer to the Emperor, and his lesser reflection, the Machine God, Lysandross pushed the button. A strong pulse of electricity shot up the silo, making its way into the nearest Servo-skull, then the next, and the next, soon a pulse strong blue electricity could be seen bouncing through all the Servo-skulls, leaving them with a new blue light residing in their optics. And just as the light had flickered and infected the last Servo-skull they all took up a new behaviour, flying at high speeds each Servo-skull coiled around the large chains which held up the Machine, each one sending volts of electricity down the chains and into the Artefact, Lysandross laughed as he heard the sound of a distant bell booming down its holy sound through the abyss, corresponding with the high volts pulsating through the chains, suddenly the exhaust pipes on the back of the roared sputtering out dark smoke as the engine came to life, crimson lenses stared down at Lysandross as the Machine lifted its hand, ancient hydraulics grabbing hold of the chains which bound it and effortlessly ripped them off, dropping the forgotten relic to the ground with a crash, but as Lysandross was about to rush to help he saw his objective standing tall and looking down at him with a helmet he couldn't even recognise. Swiftly Lysandross bowed before the awakened Machine, showing his respects to the revered._

 _"_ _My Lord"_

 ** _[+ Rise Brother +]_**

 _The Iron Sarcophagus, now awoken, stood tall above the Marine, seeing a fellow son of Mannus be the one to awaken him was always a mixed bag, for one, it let him know that his Chapter was still alive to call on him, and yet, it was worrying, as The Iron Sarcophagus was only to be awoken in times of great need for the Chapter._

 ** _[+ Tell me Brother, why was I awoken? +]_**

 _"_ _We are in a time of great peril my Lord, we are preparing an assault on the Forge World of Beraileah, it is under the occupation of vile traitors"_

 _ **[+ What do they call themselves? +]**_

 _"_ _Records indicate that it's a Traitor Legion Sir, Iron Warriors"_

 _The Contemptor Dreadnought let out a dark laugh, staring directly down at the Techmarine, a laugh which was brim with disdain._

 ** _[+ Take me to war Brother, I must have missed a few +]_**

 _…_

 ** _M41.821_**

 ** _Designation: Beraileah_**

Ruby and co watched in horror at the battle, from the roaring machine guns, to catastrophic loss of life, they were seeing this footage through Ruby's scroll which with some adjustments directed by the now known Dreadnought, allowed a long wire to link the tablet like device with the helmet of said Dreadnought, allowing them all to watch a variety of footage.

It the greatest conflict they had ever seen, weird tanks which shot beams which could disintegrate whatever it touched, men in large armour with horns, retreating from the oncoming Dreadnought, and finally, the battle between the Maulerfiend and The Iron Sarcophagus, it was intense, even knowing that the warrior would survive, it was a close call.

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: ?**

Next, they saw how he first arrived on Remnant, his journey through the streets that many of the watchers knew like the back of their hands, but what sent Yang and Ruby off the edge, was Summer, seeing their mother again, alive and well, brought the siblings to tears. Ruby was already thinking of how they'd find her.

And finally, they saw his actions in the Breach, the saving of people to the duel with the Deathstalker, his meeting with Ozpin, to showing the them his origins.

"So that hole in your chest is a wound" Ozpin noted, he too, was slightly fearful of the footage, and what the stars had to offer mankind, it was hard to imagine what the average man had to live with in those times.

 **[+ Yes +]**

"So, what are your options?"

 **[+ I only have one option left Ozpin, I must die slaying the enemy, a slow wounding death would be a stain on my Chapters pride +]**

"You can't do that!"

Ruby had once again spoke up, to her, the idea of someone dying that way, alone, away from friends, it just seemed wrong to her, a girl who's only wish was to be a hero.

 **[+ I am dying, Daughter of Summer, do not try and deny me my only redemption +]**

"Bu-"

 **[+ No +]**

"So where will you go"

Ozpin was not a man easily moved by sob stories, he had an obligation to keep his students safe, there was nothing he could do for this walking weapon. Nonetheless he was curious as to how the man would take the fight to the Grimm.

 **[+ That tunnel, the Dark Ones spewed forth from, it leads to somewhere? +]**

"Indeed it does, a dangerous place, Mount Glenn"

If only they could see the Dreadnoughts smile behind his helmet.

-Chapter 2 -END


	3. Isstvan V

**M?.?**

 **Designation: ?**

 _*THUNK*_

 _*THUNK*_

 _*THUNK*_

The Iron Sarcophagus had been journeying through the tunnel connecting Vale and Glenn for just over an hour, his ancient hydraulics providing power for his legs to pound against the tracks, his journey had been uneventful so far, the Dark Ones seemed to be very keen on avoiding him, he'd often get glimpses of them, only for them to desperately scamper away deeper into the tunnel, it was very annoying.

Sometimes, his vision would flicker, a sign that he was slowly succumbing to his wound, all he wished for was an honourable death, but even the most dangerous creatures on the planet were no match for him, they fled, they were truly cowards, and it hurt.

 **[+ Fight me Dark Ones +]**

Even when proclaiming a challenge, he was ignored, more silence, more flickering, the only thing he could do is trek on further into the tunnel, soon, there would be nowhere to run, soon, the Dark Ones would face judgement.

…

Light

…

The Iron Sarcophogus had a half smile beneath his helmet, revving his Assault Cannon and bringing his Power Fist to life, he began running towards the exit, dried blood covering most his torso, and yet, fatigue could not stop him, a Space Marine was the very embodiment of war, the Master of Mankind's greatest creation, they could not be stopped.

Breaching the light The Contemptor Dreadnought saw a sight to make humans feel sick to the bone, bodies, not those of the Dark Ones lay strung across the floor, in various states of decay, they seemed to all don a weird uniform, armour which even a Cadian would not trade for, but the main issue was how grotesque the bodies were, limbs were strewn, chests were ripped open and a large pool of blood gathered around the area, The Iron Sarcophagus was unsure if this was the work of the Dark Ones, and that was only because the work was reminiscent of an enemy he had fought many years ago…

 _Can you even remember?_

Shaking himself into focus The Iron Sarcophagus felt very sleepy, now was not the time, a massacre had occurred here, and this damage was not human, with his location, deep below in a large cavern, the enemy may still be around. Stepping fourth he could feel the steady beating of his second heart, desperately trying to keep what remained of his blood flowing around his decrepit body. There was a silent ambience to the cavern, there was blood almost everywhere, drag marks, limbs, something you'd see quite common on the frontlines of the Imperium, this was a prelude.

 _*BANG*_

The Iron Sarcophagus heard gunfire echoing through the cavern, multiple shots from multiple guns, picking up the pace he noticed how the gore increased as he approached the origin of the sounds, bodies were stacked upon each other, all wearing the same strange masked uniform, he could see no variation in this, were they infighting?

Eventually, he came upon a wall separating him and the skirmish, he could hear the shouts of men and women, what was puzzling was that there was something else on the other side of the walls, its screams inhuman, a plague to the ears, not the Dark Ones mind you, they sounded feral, beastly, no, what was on the other side of that wall was something completely different, alien, barbaric an abomination.

It needed to die.

Walking through the concrete wall The Iron Sarcophagus witnessed a bloodbath, the people, all in the same uniform, were hugging cover, guns pointed at one another, like a miniature mockery of the Guard's slow grinding casualty churning trench warfare, the fighting did not stop when the Dreadnought emerged behind one side of the belligerents, he saw them, three arms and twisted faces, a creature with a dark purple carapaces dotted around the large crevices of its body with a large bulbous head, four armed creatures tearing into the humans who were not one with them.

 **[+ Die Xenos +]**

It was spoken with such hatred, hatred that only a Space Marine may harbour. He had emerged on the side where the foul Genestealers were located, their backs turned and focused on pinning down the humans on the other side of their makeshift trenches, they let the Dreadnought walk right behind them before they turned and realised to their horror what they allowed to march behind them. With a grunt, The Iron Sarcophagus slammed his Powerfist down upon the closest abomination, fatigue and blood loss no longer mattered to Dreadnought for he had found his battle. Lifting his weapon all he saw was a red paste upon the ground, turning his head, he looked dead in the eye of the Mutant which had been staring in horror at the millennia old war-machine. He saw nothing but the disgusting iris of a bloodless Xenos.

The Assault Cannon revved itself to life, the weapon bigger than any of the foul Genestealers to which they responded by focusing their fire on the mighty Dreadnought with the cultish fever which they specialized in, and yet to no avail did their weapons effect the Dreadnought, his void shield was not even faltering under the barrage of the primitive weaponry and it was to this revelation that they all died. The ancient Assault Cannon had lay waste to the hordes, faces twisted with utter despair as the Adeptus Astartes waded through their ranks gun blazing six barrels of retribution.

Fifteen seconds, it took fifteen second for the Contemptor Dreadnought to fell the entire Xenos horde. No-one was alive now, the humans, must have been killed in the crossfire, that or they had been ripped apart by the cowering Broodlord, who had fled using his disgusting brethren as an unholy flesh shield.

This was grave, with a Genestealer Cult on the rise, this planet would not survive, the residents of this backwater world would surely perish as a Tyranid Hive Fleet was likely on the way. With a half-smile, The Iron Sarcophagus clenched his Powerfist, he was one of the most decorated Sons of Ferrus, weakness was intolerable, he would execute all who did not display the courage to bear these coming times.

After all the flesh was weak as I died in His name.

Twice.

…

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: ?**

Ruby was a spectrum of emotions, she was happy her mother was alive, she was proud that her team had so successfully defended Vale and finally, she was confused, confused that the giant man would consign himself to death, Remnant was a dangerous place, Ruby knew this, and she could not understand why anyone, even someone from Space, would give themselves up so easily to death.

At such a young age, Ruby was practically the embodiment of a Huntress, she lived to protect, she lived to save, and it was at this, a confliction in ideals, that she found herself traveling through the Vale Tunnel Network in the company of her sister Yang, they had decided to go this alone, seeing as it was essentially a family matter, her sister, also a to-be Huntress, agreed with the proposition to save the Contemptor Dreadnought, and with the assistance of Glynda Goodwitch, placing the barely functioning train onto the tracks, they were closing the gap fast.

"WHOOO"

Yang was enjoying herself immensely, outstretched through the windows in the driver's cabin, they had no clue what they were doing. The Train was speeding through the tunnel with no signs of slowing down whatsoever, crushing many Grimm underneath it. Ruby herself was drinking from her canteen which she had filled up with Orange Juice, it left a strong taste in her mouth, she was pretending to be one of those gritty soldiers, who you saw drinking that weird Alcohol from a shiny flask in war movies, 'Whisker' or something like that was what Yang told her it was, she had successfully cheered herself up. One of the many benefits to being Ruby.

"Uhh…Rubes"

Ruby's nickname brought her out of her pretending game, and she became immediately aware of the ensuing light at the end of the tunnel, rapidly approaching the two, the train began buckling as it approached the end of the line.

The two Sisters merely looked at each other with fearful looks, one word on both of their minds.

Fu-

The train, once again, suffered the fate of being thrown through a tunnel and bearing the agony of impacting through some of Vale's finest architecture, leaving a permeant mark upon the forgotten ruins of Glenn. Ruby awoke rubbing her head, her aura had sponged the impact force for her, all she had felt, was the sensation of being forcefully pushed, a sheepish smile on her face as she surveyed her and her Sisters shenanigan induced damage.

Speaking of Yang, Ruby soon saw her Sisters army poking out through a mound of rubble, a thumb up sign adorning her hand, allowing Ruby a sigh of relief, watching her, Ruby was amazed that her Sister could so easily throw of the boulders nested upon her, as she stood, all Yang seemed to notice was the tiny pebbles which clung onto her shoulder, to which she simply brushed off, as if totally unfazed by practically being buried alive.

Aura sure was useful.

The two Sisters, though they had not been retracing their previous steps long, grew immediately cautious when they came across all the bodies. The two looked at each other with shock, 'The Dreadnought couldn't have done this, could he?' They both thought.

Continuing forward the Sisters bore witness to some of the most gruesome and gory sights they had ever seen, the bodies…neither had the strength to talk about them, neither wanted to talk about them, they had concluded that they would complete their personal mission as fast as they could, not wishing to linger in such a place.

Soon enough Yang and Ruby heard gunfire, but that was not all, they heard disfigured screams and roars, they sounded distant yet near, no doubt an effect of the caverns echo, they were unnerving to say the least

The two picked up the pace, keeping within proximity for protection, and though nervousness, sparked conversation.

"What are we doing out here Ruby?"

Yang had asked an honest question, the two had no ties to the man outside of his quick meeting with their mother, a fact which Ruby was not blind to.

"We're Huntresses Yang! We can't just leave someone to die"

"Huntresses in training Ruby"

That didn't seem like a good retort to Ruby, shouldn't they always embody the ideals of what they inspire to be? What did a lack of the full-fledged title have to do with not being able to perform those select duties? Before Ruby could respond, Yang asked a question that they both had on their minds.

"Do you think he knows anything else about Mom?"

"I hope so"

Hope was the only thing the people of Remnant could do in times like these. Suddenly, Ruby was brought out of her state of her shock had the amount of gunfire they heard increased, the two looked at each other in fear and ran towards the source. A broken wall leading to an unbelievable sight.

Monsters.

Mechs.

Mayhem.

The Iron Sarcophagus had just finished beating the Tau like battlesuit, the creatures had tried getting something heavier to kill him, the vile Xenos didn't seem to understand that felling a servant of Ferrus was an impossibility, nigh, the End Times would sooner entrench before the Contemptor Dreadnought allowed Genestealers to win a planet, his Assault Cannon was as of uncontested and yet to be outclassed by anything that the vile Xenos threw at him, when the cunning and devious abominations sought to strike his wound, he would crush them under his fist.

It took him fifteen minutes to make sure every, last, one had perished, their Broodlord, had not resurfaced, more than likely it had cut its losses and fled after the initial assault, normally by now he would of ran out of ammo, he offered a quick thanks up to Lysandross for installing his Inbuilt Refinery.

Finally, he saw Summer Rose's Daughters watching him, mouth agape at his slaughter, he was hiding a smile underneath his helmet.

Someone had witnessed his last stand, for a Space Marine, forging your own legend is what they all aspired for, each one finding glory in mankind's defence, he had got what he wanted, his final battle, but it was bittersweet knowing this planet would be erased, he would not rest easy.

…

 **M31. 006**

 **Designation: Isstvan V**

I clenched my teeth tight within the battered charred remains of my Tactical Dreadnought Armour, it was a Massacre, that was the only way to describe it, my brothers had been murdered, slaughtered, I had been one of the many chosen to receive the honour of accompanying my Primarch, Ferrus Mannus and his personal retinue has they made a thrust into the Traitor Legions lines, but foul treachery from our once Brothers had made simply surviving bleak.

Artillery rained down from above, coming in from any and every direction, striking like a notched whip against the scrap iron graveyard of Space Marine mechanised tanks that the surviving retinue was using as cover.

The blistering ashes and chemicals of which was loaded into those bombs scorched any unarmoured man lower than The Gorgon himself, slowly stippling away at the Brownish-Black then colour scheme of the Iron Tenth like a finely attuned bleach, a crude attempt at wiping away any recollection of the Legions existence, they were down to but Thirty Marines. A fact which many had ignored under the reassurance of their Primarch.

Ferrus, steadfast as ever, commanded his retinue that this would be the ultimate test, the one true retribution, a glorious chance to rid themselves of the plague of weakness.

 **"** **They Approach"**

I wished my helmet's gaze was strong enough to pierce through the veil of thick sandy storms, instead the Legions Survivors had to rely on the guidance of our Primarch, his enhanced armour seeing threats long before the us, the Terminators. The Gorgon pointed West, and so it was West we fired.

Like a blanket of thunder, we dislodged everything in our arsenal West, bullets showering across the battlefield, rippling through the vast tides of swathing ashes, my Cataphractii Armour steadying my arm as I fired my Combi Bolter, the recoil threatening to take my arm away if not for the Terminator Gauntlets locking up after each successive blast.

We could hear them, the Traitors, their screams of pain through the fog of war was like an orchestra of justice, encouragement to keep firing, I had no idea how much ammunition I had remaining, I didn't even know if I was hitting anything. Everyone here, was mounting a desperate defence, we were all expendable, Ferrus was irreplaceable, and so if every wound and scar I sustained here meant one less for my glorious Gene Father then so be it.

I could see them now, like a distain upon the planet, dancing shadows in the dark in the shape of other Catapharii type Terminators, they were not the sons of the Gorgon, my Bolter was useless against the Dreadnought like armour, dropping it to the ground I let loose a cry of rage as I ran towards the enemy, Power Claw surging, I heard my brothers doing the same, some had Chainswords, some wielded Thunderhammers, it mattered not, all that mattered was holding the line, I got the first strike, unprepared Emperor's Children greeted me, they still had ranged weapons at the ready, easily swathed away by my Powerclaw they were falling like we did at that cursed Dropsite.

While I and all the other Iron Hands were currently Bastions on our own it couldn't beat the fact that for every Traitor we fell two more would take his place, it was almost reminiscent of fighting Greenskins.

And that's when the Artillery ceased, at first, we had thought the scum were retreating, growing scared of the power of Bionics, we were still weary, but from our perspectives, it was a sigh that they may be planning a new kind of attack, whatever it was we were all preparing ourselves mentally for the ensuing battle.

My armour was bleached Gun Metal Grey at this point, the only identifying mark left on me was my Legions Iconography plastered on my Cataphractii, it was hard to hide the panting under my breath, the only thing giving me the strength to fight was The Gorgon, glancing back, he somehow managed to meet all our gazes with one of expectancy, he too was aware of the dire situation, and against our request, he had joined in the fray, nothing had the power to stand in his way.

All but that bastard Fulgrim.

We were once again Slaughtered, by the end of the first wave only 27 of us remained, three more of our Brothers died. And then they returned in greater number, World Eaters, Luna Wolves, Emperors Children, Iron Warriors. They all rushed our frontlines, overwhelming me and my Brothers, I was being physically pushed backwards by the sheer amount of Bolter shells impacting my armour, and yet still I did not cease fighting, no, not even when both my legs and my arm were blown off and I crawled like a dying animal towards my Combi Bolter.

One died and I went unnoticed by the hordes.

Two more fell and they were gradually becoming aware of me, and before I could fell another two, the Combi Bolter had expended the last of its ammunition, they approached me, a dying corpse growing delusional from blood loss, Helmets preventing me from seeing what kind of looks they bore.

And that was how I died the first time, a cripple beaten to death while I heard the death scream of my Primarch, we… no, I, had failed Ferrus Mannus, that would be a shame I would bear for all time.

 **[+ I'm Sorry +]**


	4. Journey's Beginning

**I recently decided to shell out £95 on the Dark Imperium Boxset and I've gotta say, I'm genuinely having fun with the game, though, I feel I should warn anyone who plays the Tabletop that the Death Guard are a PAIN to kill, I mostly bought it so I could get the Primaris Marines which look amazing, so I gave the Death Guard to my brother as a gift, and get this, I invited down my two friends who play Dark Angels AND Eldar, and we lost, mind you, I've still not built all my models, but still, and we didn't do Moral to save time, but yeah, anyone got some tips on how to beat something with lots of Saves?**

 **Anyways, enjoy the Chapter - GreenDo**

* * *

The Iron Sarcophagus awoke to a concerning sensation, he could not move any of the limbs of his Dreadnought, he still felt the steady humming of its ancient engines ensuring him he was still upon the plane of the living, and yet, when he opened his eyes, his helmets blood red lenses came to life showing him an ugly bleach white room, he could tell by the gravity pushing down all over him that he was lying down, he couldn't turn much, if at all, such efforts were beyond the capabilities of his neck, instead the Dreadnought would have to be contempt facing the roof, and a single bright light which shone down on him, otherwise this, there was nothing else to see, though, the ancient warrior was concerned over his wound as it now felt different, not in the sense that it had worsened, rather in the sense that he could physically feel somethings were inside it, a deeply disturbing thought which the Dreadnought was stuck to ponder on.

However, what he could hear was a whole different story, many sounds seeped into his ears, his enhanced biology allowing him to pick up on most distant noises, and what he heard left the Dreadnought mystified, other engines hummed other than his, four groups of two, there was no doubt about it, having spent most his existence around machinery, he knew exactly what parts would be inside any machine with but a glance, but for all that, he now lacked the small hands needed to craft the machines he revered, a worthy trade off however, being given the honour of being entered into one of the Iron Hands most revered machines of war, a failure like him did not deserve such an honour, an Astartes who allowed his Primarch to fall, Space Marines such as him did not deserve a second chance, and no matter how many Crusades of Penitence he undertook, the guilt never, ever, would wash away.

He felt the all too familiar tug of gravity, trying to scrape his armoured form across the floor in a downward arc, though his heavy bulk hugged he surface to tightly for this to be achieved, leaving the Dreadnought with a rocking sensation.

He was moving, the sensation was instantaneous, he was being lifted into the air, by who he did not know, surely Summer's Daughters had not the influence to requisition a vehicle heavy enough to airlift the Dreadnought, maybe a Governor of the city had heard of him and wished to see up close the might of a Space Marine, then again, these people did not seem in the least knowledgeable on the Adeptus Astartes, could it be simply that what stood for a Government had petitioned for his retrieval? The Marine had not the answers, the more aching question was how he had managed to live, he had dishonourably bled out during battle, a stain upon his eternal penitence, he was as good as dead, these people could not fix him, only The Iron Sarcophagus had long since lost the means to fix himself, and he adamantly refused to acknowledge that his hands possessed a greater power to that of the cold, solid embrace of the machine.

And yet here he lay, defying the inevitable, to be able to breath with lungs that weren't there, it was a strange and pained experience. But these pains must be endured, as a Space Marine, as a defender of Humanity in an ever-shifting game hosted by maddening gods. After all ours is not a destiny of peace and prosperity. Ours will be a destiny forged among burning stars and screaming ashes until we are reunited with Him.

 ** _Wake up_**

The Iron Sarcophagus could feel the inner workings of the Dreadnought slowly come to life, much like standard Power Armour it was linking with his Black Carapace, making his Tomb feel more like a second skin, but he was still restrained, and he'd be dammed if he let mere humans cage a Space Marine.

Working the inner systems of his Dreadnought, The Iron Sarcophagus sent his own helmet spiralling to the ground with a strong pressurised burst, he felt naked, but he did what he must, this would only be temporary and soon his disgusting flesh would be covered once more.

*PFT*

With pinpoint accuracy, he launched his spittle onto his chest, and not a second later violent hissing indicated to the erosion of the many suspensions which held his righteous form in place, next, the Iron Sarcophagus revved his Assault Cannon, the mere force of the weapon was enough to break his arm free, this gave the Dreadnought enough room to slip out from the bindings which held him, metal chains, they were reminiscent of those that the Black Templars warriors wore, indeed, he had fought with those most honourable Battle Brothers before, memories of a Warp Jump gone wrong and bringing a whole Strike Fleet of Iron Hands to a world designated Armageddon filled the ancient warriors mind, he even made the acquaintance of a Chaplain from said Chapter who had unmatched zeal and ferocity towards the Xenos menace, Chaplain Grimaldus his Brothers called him, many glories had been won on that planet.

Standing to his full height the Dreadnought looked around the room and noticed numerous wires along the wall connecting him to what appeared to be a primitive form of computing, on the screen they showed various mappings of the Dreadnoughts body, Helmet, Legs, Arms, through his now reattached helmet raspy and angry breaths echoed along the walls, the bastards had been blueprinting his Dreadnought!

With a roar, the Dreadnought ripped out a tube which had been inside his chest, he cared not for the gushing blood, he was too consumed by his own rage, with a blow which sounded like lightning the Power Fist caved in the side of the wall which had the computer, Omnissiah be damned!

The Blistering cold met his armour has snow poured into the room, red alarms blared from the lights which had engulfed the once bleach white room with a haze of red, looking outward he saw two weird aircraft flying with a heavier looking chain attaching them to the cursed place the Dreadnought was inside, they had tried to move him.

the Assault Cannon shredded into the two aircraft, pinpoint accuracy completely taking of the thrusters which let them be airborne, and without a second thought, the Space Marine jumped, a thick dark fog obscuring the land below.

 ***CRASH***

The Iron Sarcophagus landed in what appeared to be a snow-covered mountain, making a large crater upon his decent, climbing out was not a problem, he had clawed out of deeper during his initiation on Medusa, squinting his eyes through his helmet could spot the burning wreckage coming down at a much further location to him, he would make sure the bastards paid dearly for stealing from not just him, but by extension, Him on Terra.

Grunting the Dreadnought trudged through the ankle high snow into the shrouded distance, with nothing but the howls of feral beats to accompany him on his quest for justice.

 **"** **Stop"**

And there it was again, that ghostly voice which always spoke to the Iron Sarcophagus the barest of words ever since he first arrived on this planet, and then there was the Aura which he had seen manifest during the battle against the Genestealers, some of the humans in White had used it and yelled about its depletion, before being violently torn limb from limb by the Broodlord.

Nevertheless, the Iron Sarcophagus had seen something like this before on a world called Motemis, it was a small world on the edge of the Calixis Sector, and as such, saw frequent Warp Storms blow in from the Eye of Terror, it was a tale that was close to the Dreadnought, for many reasons, one such, was how it took place after his initial interring into the Dreadnought.

 **[+ I know your there, Witch +]**

Turning around the Iron Sarcophagus saw the pale face of Summer Rose staring back at him with a confused tilt to her head.

"How did you know?"

In truth, the Iron Sarcophagus had almost developed a sixth sense for the Arcane, fighting the Pawns of Chaos for so long gifts you with an unnaturally strong sense of hatred just by being near anything which emits Warp energy.

 **[+ I am Millenia Old and have slayed countless monstrosities Summer, I could sense you before you were even conceived +]**

Summer made a weird sound after the Iron Sarcophagus stated that, hearing it filled him with an alien feeling, a feeling he didn't like.

"I never got the chance to thank you for what you did"

He was no stranger to that phrase, many a time did a grateful Parent or Sibling graciously thank the Iron Hands, and they replied nought, life was nothing but cold fury, and he is no different. And so, he simply ignored her, turning around and beginning to walk towards the crash site.

"So, what's your story?"

The question caught the Dreadnought off guard, no one ever asked that, not even his own Battle Brothers, with every world he conquered the people would have one of two reactions, they either cower away inside what remained of their homes, or they would be crowding the Emperors Finest, bellowing praises and hoping to so much as touch the armour of the Adeptus Astartes.

 **[+ I fight, I kill, I live and then I fight again +]**

"Tsk, not like that Dummy, I mean, tell me what led to well…this"

To emphasise he point Summer gestured to the Dreadnought itself rather then who was inside it.

Taking a moment, the Iron Sarcophagus sat down in the thick snow, the howling wind passing around them, he was gathering his thoughts, usually a Yes or No would suffice, but this was an honest question, something which had threw him off.

 **[+ Very well, I shall share my Tale Summer Rose, but it shall be but one of my many deeds, for the full Tale requires many an hour of listening +]**

Summer nodded vigorously at this, obviously interested at the prospect of learning more about the Iron Giant.

* * *

 ** _DESIGNATION: Mortemis_**

 ** _M31.014_**

 _It had been eight years since the Dropsite Massacre and our Legion had still not come over the death of our Primarch, Ferrus who had been slain by Fulgrim shortly after I lost conscious, I was missing one arm and two legs, they were all blown off because of the sheer force of the Bolters, my Legion had only two options with me, Euthanize me, or Inter me, and to this day I do not understand why they chose the latter, but I awoke to the sight of hundreds of Servo-Skulls, weaving in and out of our Strike Cruiser's Observation Deck, I had no need to worry for the size of my Dreadnought, the large halls of a Adeptus Astartes Spacecraft were made to support the many large Battle Brothers and by extension the Legions Dreadnoughts up to the Leviathan Class, all could transverse the main halls and decks with relative ease._

 _I was looking over the world of Mortemis, the planet had a blazing a red aura around swerving with violent Warp Energies, as decreed by the Emperor of Mankind we were to hound the Traitors to the Eye of Terror following the defeat of Horus Lupercal, and as such, that's what we were doing, not a single Traitor had survived our vengeful wrath, it was like the Great Crusade all over again, we were conquering the same planets which the Traitors had tried to fortify against us, we cared not what happened to the populace, they had condemned themselves to damnation._

 _Suddenly the deck shook and I looked on with a grim smile as our Cruiser bombed the surface it was like the Omnissiah itself was thundering down through the heavens, I wasn't particularly big on the faith of the Mechanicus, but after the Heresy, after the Daemons, I wasn't so sure. The cities of Mortemis were glassed in minutes such was the power of a Virus Bombs, simultaneously Battle Brothers dropped down from Orbit, not at all worried about the residue chemicals, our helmets could filter even the harshest of airs, and in extreme cases, our Power Armour could store its own Oxygen supply, but that would not be needed. I heard the internal Vox intercom of the ship come to life._

 _"_ _First Clan has made impact, let them burn"_

 _I time passed, and soon enough, I was on the planet's surface, as much as I had wished I could be there to make first contact, no vehicles outside a Drop Pod could survive the extreme heat, and so I had to wait about an hour until a Thunderhawk could tow me to the surface._

 _It was a glorious site, dead Traitors littered the floor, anything without Power Armour had been simply turned to ash, Terminators were setting up a perimeter for when the planet cooled enough for the bulk of the Iron Hands force to arrive, bringing retribution, many of the Battle Brothers stopped to look at me, I was no longer their Brother, I was simply an Astartes, a failure._

 _Eyesight broke when our enhanced senses warned of a sharp whistling in the air, I saw how a Leman Russ Battle Tank could not even penetrate my shields, out of it crawled Dark Mechanicus Skitarii, eyes glowing an unnatural red, they screamed in feral rage as they began hitting the Terminators with primitive weapons, it didn't go well, Powerfists and Thunderhammers penetrated the rage induced Dark Priests practically turning them into mush._

 _But to our surprise, another wave of the Dark Priests appeared this time, they had a strange aura accompanying them, the Assault Terminators simply reengaged but this time the same weapons did little to nothing, simply flinging the Dark Mechanicus Priests away._

 _"_ _What on Medusa?"_

 _The Terminator struggled to parry the blows of the glowing Traitors, now I was under attack also by the them, and they were strong, not enough so that it threw me off, but the combination of my new body and the unexpected resistance had given them an initial advantage._

 _Eventually I ripped the filthy creatures away using my Powerfist and crushed them with it, strangely I had a hard time crushing the glowing ones, I and the Terminator Captain seemed to be having the same thoughts as we came to a realization._

 ** _"_** ** _THE TRAITORS WEAR A ENHACEMENT FIELD, KILL THE GLOWING ONES"_**

 ** _[+ Destroy the ones which glow, they have been cursed with unnatural vigour +]_**

 _More and more glowing metal Priests filtered through the blazing heat, even if my brothers no longer saw as theirs's, they would at least appreciate the value of added firepower, as my Assault Cannon did what it did best and shredded through the ensuing hordes, anything without that damned Aura quickly fell, it seemed to act as a shield for the Techpriests sponging many of my bullets, and engaging with the Terminators who were holding their ground._

 _The battle lasted two whole hours as glowing World Eaters emerged from ruins, I slew many of Angron's bastard sons, many of them issuing a challenge to me, I slew them quickly, cold rage powering my Fist. Not even the Terminator Captain dared interrupt me as I duelled in the Iron Hands name, gaining much honour in our Genefathers glory, nameless warriors empowered by Dark Gods and a damned Aura._

 _I looked to my left and saw one of the Terminators fall, to a World Eater who had just brutally decapitated, a Terminator, switching targets I shot the Berserker in vengeance, none would survive, this was the height of the battle, surrounded by Traitors and beset on all sides, our unit became one as we fought in perfect unison._

 _It was a long day._

* * *

 **Designation:?**

 **Location:?**

"So, what happened next?"

Summer's question did not pass though the Dreadnought, he looked up at her, inside his helmets his eyes had a distant gaze, how times changed.

 **[+ We won the battle, it was hard, many Brothers died, eventually located the source of the Aura, and we destroyed it +]**

"That's not a very dramatic ending"

 **[+ It wasn't supposed to be, that tale serves more than speaking of past glories +]**

"The Aura?"

 **[+ Correct, I believe this planet to utilize a similar technology, but to what degree I'm unsure, but I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep your daughters safe, a grave danger approaches, and I must make haste to avert the Great Devourer +]**

Getting up the Dreadnought turned and began to continue his trek before his company asked a simple question which only made him smile.

"Care for some company?"


	5. The Black Forest: Part I

**Do not get used to small chapters, this was split simply for convenience on my part.**

 **-GreenDo**

* * *

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: ?**

 **[+ No +]**

The Iron Sarcophagus was firm in his reply, denying the request, he did not protect these people because he liked them, he was protecting them out of a sense of duty, allowing himself the company of one of those people would compromise that, ruthless, machinelike, and efficient, that was the way which the Iron Tenth operate and he would never dishonour his Brothers, even if he felt the Legion, or Chapter, had become twisted into a mockery of its original purpose.

Inspecting Summer's face discerned a blank look, she had obviously not expected that answer, too bad, he would honour her pleas but he wouldn't honour her requests.

"Your no fun"

Summer had not seen the things he had seen, she had not done the things he did, and so the Dreadnought had to always steel himself away from being offended, perhaps the only thing stopping him from killing these people was his age, he was not able to look upon the Emperor with Godlike reverence, the Zeal which drove others was nought but an ancient sense of Duty within the Contemptor Dreadnought, would he be found Wanting? Yes, he would be found wanting his Genefather back.

 **[+ Fun breeds weakness Rose, and I am not weak +]**

Turning back the Dreadnought could still make out the plumes of smoke from the wretched aircraft just the sighs of its destruction filled him with immense satisfaction. Marching onwards he sensed that Rose had not followed, The Iron Sarcophagus was relieved, he didn't know why he had not died, he was still wounded, yet he felt no pain, it was as if it was gone.

Suddenly the Dreadnought doubled over onto the floor, clutching his giant hand over the wound as a sudden but gut-wrenching pain overcame him as the wound almost instantly came back to life tenfold as blood gushed from his armoured form.

Through blurred vision he saw her again, white cloak fluttering from behind, and staring down at him with a smile.

"Now is that any way to treat the girl who's keeping you alive?"

 **[+ Vile witch +]**

"I thought as much"

 **[+ You've been using this vile Energy Field to keep me alive, haven't you? +]**

"It was within both yours and my best interests, and still is, believe me, I don't enjoy doing this, but those creatures you fought at Glenn, they can resist me, and if your thoughts are true, they are only the beginning"

 **[+ Do not fear, I will end your life long before that happens +]**

"What's it going to take to get through that thick skull of yours huh? **I want to keep my family safe** , and either you're going to bleed out in the snow and have Atlas do away with your tech, **OR** You'll forge an alliance with me, and **together** we'll put an end to those creatures and stop Atlas, so what will it be Dreadnought? Death or Duty"

 **[+ Death +]**

"Wha-?"

 **[+ I will not yield answers to those who use violence to seek them, Rose +]**

"Clever"

 **[+ The Irony is not lost to me +]**

"sooo?"

 **[+ I shall agree on but three conditions. One, the thieves die first. Two, you do everything I say without hesitation- +]**

"Kinky"

 **[+ What? +]**

"Nothing"

 **[+ And three, if you ever, ever, do this to me again, by the Golden Throne, I will defy Death once again to take you with me +]**

"So, it's a deal, Wanna shake on it?"

 **[+ No +]**

Getting up the Contemptor Dreadnought looked at Summer with masked fury, his wound once more invisible to him, and bound by a pact to stop him exacting revenge, he would save this world, his duty ensuring it, but Summer had made such a duty feel sour with that display.

And so, it was that the two marched on, an icy silence between them as they waded towards to the crash site, luck having the two Aircraft dying toghether, the Iron Sarcophagus was fine with the chilling silence, it was what he fought in, Summer however, had felt like she overdid it slightly, she could feel the rage the Walker had for her, it was horrific, the amount of anger these Space Marines can harbour within themselves is simply frightening.

"You're on Remnant by the way"

The Dreadnought continued to walk in the same chilling silence.

"Hello?"

 **[+ I heard +]**

"Oh"

…

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant**

The crash site was nothing the Dreadnought hadn't expected, burning hulls and scattered chains, Men were being devoured by the Dark Ones, unstoppable they seemed, many running in feral induced fever, feasting upon the remains of those still alive to fight back, a fate well deserved of thieves.

Suddenly, the mass swerved all eyes on Summer oblivious to the Dreadnought besides her, a horde of Wolves and Runts bearing exposed teeth and knife-like claws, she couldn't look at them, to many ingrained memories steeling herself, she got ready for the fight of her life, though before the horde could charge, the Dreadnought thumped forwards causing the Grimm to disband and flee the crash site, she was about to ask what the Iron Sarcophagus had done, but no sooner did he make a statement which answered her.

 **[+ You reek of fear, you dishonour my presence with it +]**

It had never occurred to Summer, that she had never felt fear coming from him, the Grimm weren't avoiding him, they feared him. It was only just dawning on her that these 'Astartes' may not be wholly human.

 **[+ Watch them run, tales between their legs at the sight of a stronger opponent, Cowards +]**

The two proceeded to investigate the site and sure enough inside the cockpit of one of the crashed flyers was a small computer panel, a list of blueprints listed under two options, Send and Cancel, Summer hit Cancel, she wanted to hit the former, but the Dreadnought fit her plans far better than the Atlas Military could.

Suddenly, Summer heard gunshots from outside, looking outside, she saw the Contemptor Dreadnought killing an Atlas Soldier who had lost a leg to the Grimm though she knew deep down, that was no mercy killing. Everything here was executed by him.

Strangely however, the skies blackened over them and not a second later many large black feathers pierced the cockpit, Summer quickly hit the ground but unfortunately one of the many razor like projectiles had went right through her arm, leaving a nasty hole and pinning her to the ground all she could do was look through the window as a Raven-like bird descended from the skies talons caving in her prison, bone white mask housing deep crimson eyes staring into her very soul.

A Nevermore

Summer couldn't help it, she screamed and instantly regretting it as it launched the Grimm into a frenzy, attacking the walls that were separating her from doom. Though, through all this she felt the ground shaking before she felt like an Earthquake had occurred and looking up she saw the Nevermore almost comically flying at speeds she could almost not comprehend, barrelling through tree after tree and leaving a plume of snow.

The Iron Sarcophagus stood before her, looking down at her with that same masked fury, yet he had saved her, and she instantly felt dread well up he once more raised his fist, was he saving her just so he would get the satisfaction of the final blow? But just then, the Nevermore returned, returning at almost the same speed it had been launched at, firing volley after volley of razer edged feathers at the Dreadnought, though, she saw also how they all, all, dissolved in the very air as they neared him, all while his gun shot back causing the Beast to shoot through the sky at blinding speeds and yet the Dreadnought still managed hit it square in the wing effectively bringing it down, but not before it arched it head and folded its wings into itself barrelling through the clouds directly towards the Walker she could barely track it with the speeds it had reached.

The Iron Sarcophagus arched back its fist, a blindingly blueish aura overtaking it, one leg back, and body turned to the side. Summer only felt what happened as a literal shockwave waded through the area, temporarily causing her to cry out as her arm vibrated off the feathers, but when she looked up she saw the Nevermore lying flat on its side, head completely missing and a triumphant Dreadnought standing over it eyes fixed on its crimson fist before its stare fixed on Summer now a gaze which made her feel heavy as it walked over towards her, was its lenses always so red? Bracing herself she tried to draw on Remnants Energy Field but was horrified when she felt the Grimm's feathers acting as an anchor and sapping the energy away from her, she couldn't re-open his wound, she couldn't stop him.

 ** _*Thump*_**

 ** _*Thump*_**

 ** _*Thump*_**

Looking up, she saw him staring at her through the barely standing window of the cockpit, closing her eyes Summer prepared for the end but after a few second felt a sting in her arm and looking up she saw the Iron Sarcophagus clamp his Powerfist over the withdrawn feather, breaking it in two.

Ripping open the cockpit with ease he reached in and picked up Summer, carrying her away from the crash site, as a Nevermore burned to smouldering ashes with the assistance of a Flamer.

"W-why?"

 **[+ If you perish the wound might reopen, I'm not risking that +]**

"Where are we going?"

 **[+ The Thieves told me where I might find the Genestealers, We need to build an idea of how large the Cult is, from there I can predict how near the Great Devourer draws and can therefore start work on our defence +]**

"Ah, hey you know, it's not so bad up here, kinda comfy, and I am kinda tired, soo-"

 **[+ Fall asleep in my arms and I'm dropping you, this is simply so your wound heals faster +]**

"Oh"

…

"Say, why don't you tell me another one of your stories?"

 **[+ Not after that performance +]**

"Aww c'mon, not even one teeny tiny one?"

 **[+ No +]**

"Yes"

 **[+ No +]**

"Yes"

 **[+ No +]**

"Yes"

 **[+ Emperor save me +]**

Summer giggled at that, the pain in her arm subsiding.


	6. The Black Forest: Part II

**Happy to say this is the last chapter which will be short - GreenDo**

* * *

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant**

The Contemptor Dreadnought stood on a cliff which overlooked a Manufactorum well hidden in the frozen mountains far away from any kind of prying eyes. The Thief had given him at least one tiny shard of significant information in what the Dreadnought could only assume was a plea for his life however the shackles of dishonour translated to forgiveness in the form of the Iron Sarcophagus' Assault Canon. Summer had dared fall asleep, and true to his word, he had dropped her at some point on his journey to the Manufactorum though he wasn't completely thoughtless, he took care in placing her unconscious form upon a tree branch out of harms way. Not that he doubted she would inevitably make her way back to him, the girl had a weird air about her, something akin to a Psyker yet drastically different. Not to mention those Emperor forsaken powers.

Suddenly the Dreadnought squinted through the lenses upon his helmet as a series of explosions wracked the Manufactorum, even from the reasonable distance the Iron Sarcophagus heard a siren screech across the night sky. Taking his cue, the Contemptor Dreadnought leaped down from the cliff falling at an incredible distance and coming out unscathed nothing but a plume of snow to mark his descent as he sprinted towards his objective echoing screams reminiscent of his time in Glenn made him double his speed and push his ancient joints to their limit powered by an exhaust which roared through the sky.

Indeed it hadn't taken him long to reach the Main Gate, but by that time half the facility was up in flames and figures could be heard fighting beyond the large metal gate, he also heard the thumping of an Imperial Knight Mockery, the Iron Sarcophagus smashed through the gate a whole portion of it flying forwards and splattering the Knight against what looked to be a Manufactorum Warehouse, at this all the Thieves and Genestealers turned to the Dreadnought with varying looks of surprise, dread and one or two even had relief.

 **[+ I have come to destroy you all +]**

The Iron Sarcophagus had a tendency of sticking to his word.

…

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant**

Summer awoke to the chilling cold nipping at her features, her cloak wrapped around her like a blanket, initially she was shocked, thinking she had made progress with the Astartes though if this predicament was anything to go by, he had not seemed to ease up to her yet, but she couldn't blame him for that could she?

Staring at her pale hand she was lost in thoughts as she felt the area around her, not through her hand, but through her Aura, seeing everything, from the highest tree to the smallest insect, indeed, Summer could quite literally be perceived as a deity in Remnant what with the level at which she could manipulate the Planet and everything on it. The Iron Sarcophagus was spot on about the Energy Field, for Summer had seen it with her own eyes, and upon her death near it, became one with the Machine's energy, literally becoming a conduit for all Aura, if it wasn't for the Grimm, she would have power over all life on Remnant, not that she'd use it for nefarious purposes, Sadly, it had its downsides.

By becoming a Conduit of Aura, she unconsciously draws on the Aura of all lifeforms to keep herself alive, slowly leeching them to death it's something she can't stop. And Oum did it feel terrible, she was a walking poison.

It's best her daughters didn't see her this way.

Though there was a silver lining, the Astartes had a resistance to this, she didn't know what it was but it was as if he didn't register as something with Aura it was only by manipulating the Aura of everything around him that she was able to physically affect him. Having someone to talk to that won't just drop dead in a couple of hours was exciting, though she did feel terrible for bending him to her will, it was necessary, not just for her Daughters safety, but Summer's as well. Isolation made you contemplate some terrible thoughts.

Getting up she found him, a black dot passing over everything, disrupting connections in the Aura, smirking, her perception of space warped and not a second later she found herself sitting on the Dreadnought's shoulder, watching bullets fizzle through its Shield Thingie it was like a mini Firework show. Of course, the Dreadnought couldn't see her, just as he to her Summer could also make herself missing from his perception.

 **[+ Don't think I don't know your there, Witch +]**

Summer jumped from her perch in surprise.

"HOW?"

 **[+ I can feel you +]**

"Oh"

…

"WAIT YOUR NOT A ROBOT ARE YOU!?"

 **[+ Machines don't bleed +]**

Summer rose didn't expect to feel envy coming from the Dreadnought at that remark, though she quickly had to raise her voice when she saw what seemed to be a Factory, what was worse though was that one of its smoke chimneys was collapsing thanks to a crashing Bullhead, what's worse though was that it was collapsing right on top of them.

"WATCH OUT"

Summer could feel herself being grabbed, Unable to teleport.

…

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant**

The Iron Sarcophagus felt like he'd had a Titan step on him, luckily the complex metals that made up his being was far superior to anything that this world could even hope to forge, and as such, survived the impact with minimal damage, though, he could feel his Void Shield had overloaded, trying to dissolve an object far too big for it.

Uncurling, He placed Summer on the ground, she had a look of pure fear etched into her face, the stench reeked. Though it wasn't because of the near-death experience, his helmet had become dislodged, it was now lying half buried in the dust, grunting, the Dreadnought swiftly grabbed it and put it upon his head with inhuman speed.

Summer didn't move from her place even had the Dreadnought continued clearing out the factory, what was under that helmet shook her to the core, no wonder she didn't drain his life, there was barely any to drain.

The Iron Sarcophagus had pulled the corpses toghether and had set them alight with his Flamer, quickly replacing the snow with ash, Summer now came to stand by him, the two didn't look at each other, both seemingly transfixed by the flames, she initiated the conversation.

"What was that?"

 **[+ Its none of your concern +]**

"WHA-"

 **[+ No +]**

Summer was beyond concerned, what she had saw under that helmet scared her, she wasn't traveling with a human.


	7. Uprising

**M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant**

 **21:00**

The Dreadnought and the Ghost sat round a spire of burning bodies, one scared to look at the other and the others humanity to warped to care or notice the others discomfort, indeed the Iron Sarcophagus had his mind going through various stratagems in his head, a thousand plans to defeat thousands of Tyranids, but many of these plans are redundant given his lack of knowledge of the world deciding that the easiest way to gain a better idea of this 'Remnant' would be to question his companion he broke the silence.

 **[+ Rose, this world, tell me about it +]**

Silence.

Turning he saw her gaze transfixed on the flames, skin seemingly paler then normal though he wouldn't know it, Summer Rose was still horrified about what was under that helmet it was like a horror movie, those silver eyes of hers devoid of emotion not even the Grimm could inspire such fear, it was looking at her asking a question but to what it said she could not here, how was it even alive? Summer had died, sure, but she was revived and built her soul a new body with aura, and she would continue to revive and rebuild for as long as her conscious could bear existing, but this Astartes, there was no such thing available, he was old, VERY old, only now was she starting to realise this, but he was also stagnant, decayed and full of malice, malice which was like a toxin to her.

 **[+ I expect my questions to be answered Rose +]**

"What happened?"

 **[+ I was ask- +]**

"Not that, THIS, YOU or at least, what's left of you, I can read you like a book with Aura, and what I've seen has scared me, forget all this Iron Sarcophagus crap, why don't I use your REAL name?"

 **[+ Use that name Witch and I will destroy you +]**

"Is that a promise? **CRI** \- "

 ** _*BOOM*_**

Summer managed to catch herself through the shock and landed gracefully onto a branch overlooking the Dreadnought who had his Powerfist where Summer was previously, he had moved at inhuman speeds simply to cut her off, though with a flick of her hands a pool of blood was sputtering fourth from the Dreadnought, though rather than fall to his knees, the Iron Sarcophagus stood firm.

 **"** **I'm going to pretend that didn't just happen"**

 **[+ Good, allow me another punch +]**

 **"** **Funny"**

 **[+ My honour is no jest, Wench +]**

 **"** **Why don't you look me in the eye and say that"**

Summer stood firm as she heard the hissing of the Dreadnoughts helmet coming off at exposing the horror underneath to the world, decayed skin crawled up the throat and up to the lip, providing the Astartes with a somewhat functioning tongue but past the upper the lip there was no flash to be seen, simply a dirty brown skull, the only indication that there was any life inside was the bright red lights contained within metal eye sockets, metal tubing protruded from the Dreadnoughts body and into the back of his skull, most likely keeping the brain alive. Those artificial eyes seemed to stare into her very soul.

Covering her mouth in shock Summer couldn't believe the sight in front of her it was like she was on the front row seat to a horror movie, she had previously glimpsed it sure, but nothing could prepare her for seeing it in detail, and the amount of malice she could feel coming from the Astartes was innumerable, and she suddenly felt a deep regret.

"I-I'm sorry"

With a swipe of her hand the Dreadnoughts lost blood seemed to gain life as it crawled up from the ground and back into his wound, she couldn't discern what he was thinking, though all her mind could wander on was how unnaturally alive he was, sure, Summer had died loads of different times over the years, but her extended life was more of a resurrection then anything, but this Dreadnought had been extended so past his due date that she was scared if she was even looking at something that was the same species as her.

Hearing the ground shake she was too scared to look up, all she could see was the looming shadow standing over her, clenching her fist, she prepared for the death that was promised to her if she did that again.

 **[+ You humans really do confuse me +]**

"W-what?"

 **[+ You go from promising my death to apologising before a confrontation even occurs +]**

"But the hatred I can feel coming from you, why are you forgiving me?"

 **[+ I never said I had forgiven you, and I wouldn't be alive today if I couldn't control my own rage +]**

"So, what now?"

 **[+ As much as I'd like to rid myself of you, I think it's time we stopped squabbling and put our energy against the Great Devourer +]**

"Hahahahaha"

 **[+ What is it now? +]**

"No, it's nothing, I just thought that you were about to literally rip my head off"

 **[+ That sounds appealing** **+]**

"What was that that?"

 **[+ I said we should requisition this facility as a base of operations +]**

"Hey, do you think they have an oven?"

 **[+ What's that? +]**

"Uhh, don't you have cooked food in Space"

 **[+ I mostly feed on rocks +]**

"OUMDAMMIT FOLLOW ME WE'RE FINDING AN OVEN AND HAVING A DECENT MEAL"

 **[+ I shall catch up to you +]**

"You better"

Waiting till Summer was gone the Iron Sarcophagus reached into the pile of burning bodies and pulled out a Genestealer, half of completely turned to ash, casually, the Dreadnought slipped off his helmet and bit a chunk out of the aliens remaining arm, swallowing it with ease, and not a second later the Dreadnought saw many things.

Premonitions of a promise whispered into the ears of the ignorant by a maddening Tyrant, honey filled words passed on by a whore of the Great Devourer. A sea of living flesh encircling a jewel in the night. Then he saw more defined features, a powerful group, infiltrated and replaced, a horde of imposters slowly taking control, the Vale and the Atlas were both corrupt, uprising was soon to com-

The Iron Sarcophagus was already sprinting.

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Vale**

 **22:05**

Ozpin was rubbing his eyes in agitation to as the dark bags under them grew, and with a sigh of frustration he leaned back in his chair taking a swig of coffee to help him stay awake, he had not slept in two days straight, and for good reason.

The Vale Council had gone dark.

It happened after the Breach, they had simply not been responding to anyone and at first Ozpin had been relieved, a few days without them had breathed new life into the man, all for it to be lost as he had to take up the emergency mantle of running the Kingdom of Vale, both luckily and unluckily for him, James Ironwood, had been on hand to help relieve him of at least fifty percent of the Kingdom's running, the unlucky bit was James Ironwood was controlling half the kingdom.

Martial Law was the first thing he had done, Ozpin nor the time or strength to get in repealed, worst yet though crime in the city began spiking, many people were going missing for periods of time, though luckily, most inexplicably returned with no knowledge whatsoever of what happened, even some of his students had been abducted, which had angered Ozpin greatly.

Though his helpless moping was interrupted as the man of the hour barged through his door, James Ironwood looked livid, marching up to Ozpins desk and slamming both his arms down looking directly at the man who just leaned casually back.

"To watch do I owe the pleasure of your visit James?"

"One of the Atlas Militaries Research Division's outpost just went dark"

"And this concerns me how?"

Ironwood slapped a small device known as a scroll onto his desk and a video started playing, at first Ozpin didn't know what he was looking at, Atlesian soldiers were fighting each other to the death, brutally bludgeoning their comrades without concern.

"What am I looking at James?"

"Keep watching"

And true to Ironwood's word the facilities main gate came crashing down on an Atlesian Knight and what came marching through made Ozpin's heart skip a beat, the Astartes was alive, Ozpin's tired eyes were wide open as he saw the man completely gun down everything in sight with machinelike accuracy, about midway through Ozpin dropped his mug, uncaring as the glass broke and boiling hot coffee stained his trousers.

A white cloak fluttered off from the Dreadnought's shoulder, the women who had suddenly appeared out of thin air was sitting, gaze transfixed on the rippling of sparks happening a few feet beyond the Iron Sarcophagus, Summer Rose.

Cold sweat poured down Ozpins face, with shaking hands he picked up his own scroll, putting it to his ear, looking up at his friend with shrunk pupils.

"Qrow? It's Oz"

…

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Vale**

 **00:03**

A young detective walked through the grimy streets of Vale, chuffing down a pack of smokes, hat soaked as rain continually poured down from the uncaring sky, he had a tipoff, he was one of many investigating the abductions blazing across the Kingdom, supposedly his informant was to meet somewhere along the empty streets around midnight, and true to his word, he saw said informant walking towards him, bright yellow raincoat reflecting the streetlights as long blue streaks of hair filtered from the hood.

Throwing away his smoke, the detective tipped down his hat and walked onwards meeting the person at halfway as they both turned into an alley.

"Now what's a purty' girl like 'cherself doin' at an hour like this?"

"Can it George, this is serious"

"Believe me Kat I'm dead serious, 'cuz I don't take to kindly to my folks goin' missing"

"Good, then you're going to believe what I'm about to show you"

"This why you wanna' meet right by the sewers?"

"Obviously"

Looking down George bent down and lifted a manhole as a putrid smell wafted into his nose from the dark below. Kat's blue eyes held a weird look in them tonight he mused. Kat was a small girl, about three quarters George's height, he'd known her since he was a student in Vacuo, the two had been through a lot toghether. Her blue hair matched her eyes and if George was honest he found her attractive, great form to boot, though first and foremost they were very close friends. And George wouldn't ruin their relationship like that.

"Well, ya know what they say Kat, ladies first"

"Asshole"

"That I am sweetie, that I am"

Jumping down after his companion George heard an uncomfortable squelch as his shoes landed in muck. It was straightforward, one way forward, one way back, reaching into the pockets on his large coat he brought out a large flashlight, flickering it on the Detective saw Kat right in his face.

"Lookie' here"

"Shut up you, I can't see anything down here"

"That there blush tells a different story missy"

"George this is serious"

"I know"

The two moved forward, Kat leading the way, the many mossy and dank tunnels soon began to fade away as weird iconography started littering the walls, banners, engravings all kinds of messed George was perplexed.

"Some kinda' Cult?"

"Yeah"

"Fuck"

"What?"

Popping another smoke in his mouth George shot off.

"Fuckin' hate Cults"

Hearing a banging to his left George pulled out his revolver in a split second, shining his flashlight into the darkness he saw nothing but little Grimm Rats scurrying across the floor, popularly known as Skaven.

"Typical"

"Are you done? Sort of want to go take a shower after this"

"Kat, sweetie, last time we were dealing with a cult was back in good 'ole Vacuo, and I lost an eye, so I apologise if I'm a little jumpy this evenin'"

Rounding a corner George and Kat appeared to be on some kind of balcony overlooking a large hall, many other balconies littered the room but the real gem was on the ground floor, people and weird creatures were on the ground floor, cheering as a man in red robes walked to the stage, a bulbous head on him.

"Look Kat, it's Humpty Dumpty, I ain't seen that fella' since kindergarten"

The two were crouched so that both their heads were peeking over the bannister, hearing the man had to say.

"BROTHERS AND SISTERS, TODAY WE STAND ON THE PINNACLE OF OUR RIGHTEOUS ACENSION, WE HAVE ALREADY REPLACED A NUMBER OF THE POPULANCE WITH OUR NUMBER, NOW, IN A MATTER OF DAYS, WE WILL RISE UP, AND TAKE WHAT IS OURS, SO THAT THE COMING GOD REWARDS US WITH GIFTS UNTHOUGHT OF"

"George"

"Hold on Kat"

George it can't wait

Suddenly George found himself being pushed onto his back as Kat wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her body against his, an affectionate smile on her face as she closed the distance between their faces.

"What in tarnation"

"I've wanted to do this, for a very long time, George"

"Uhh"

Placing a finger on his lips she smiled, looking at him with those blue eyes which had that odd look too them, by this point she was straddling him. Suddenly though, George heard a buzzing coming from his scroll, which broke him out from his blank state, reaching into his pocket, he opened his messages, all while Kat was grinding harder.

 _[NEW MESSAGE]_

 _00:45_

 _From: Kat_

 _-WERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?_

George didn't waste time, grabbing 'Kat' by the shoulders he threw her away from him, from the floor she talked in an over the top sweet voice. All the while trying to advance of the Detective with puppy like eyes.

"What's wrong Georgy?"

"Now listen missy, while I appreciate a little action like any good man should, it gets just a tini tiny bit complicated when the girl I'm doin' is wearing the face of my teammate and is in kahoots with a cult"

Now it was George's turn to smile as the 'Kat' which had tried smothering his leg with its chest as it looked up at him with a blank look and the smile completely gone. Suddenly George let out a grunt when the 'Kat' had seemingly grown claws and was mindlessly carving his leg. George quickly kicked her off before bringing out his revolver and shooting her three times, and she just stood there smiling at him.

"Son' Bitch"

Hearing a loud roar, he overlooked the balcony quickly and saw the people physically climbing the walls like monkeys, coming towards him while Humpty Dumpty spat curses, turning he began to sprint, 'Kat' just smiling with her head tilted as he ran like he'd never ran before away from the amassed Cult.

He had to get out, the world had to know, this was worse than the Grimm, the Whitefang, this was the possible replacement of every single darned person in the Kingdoms. Pulling out his scroll he began to call ValePD and was relieved as it went through.

"GONNA NEED THE ATLAS SWAT DOWN HERE NOW"

"I'm sorry Sir, but this PD only accepts requests from the Great Devourer now…"

"F-"

Throwing his Scroll to the floor George slid as a clawed hand reached out to where his head was from around the corner, turning, he got a look at it, another bulbous headed creature but it was more bestial then anything, four arms and razor-sharp bone armour, George quickly sidestepped it and continued sprinting, glowing yellow eyes sprinting after him, his path ended when he saw a waterfall with no way down, looking around he only saw pipes, one was leaking methane, he could smell it from here, there was no kind of ladder only a balcony with rusted handle bars.

Then he saw them all, hanging back in the darkness, only one stepped forward, it was the Kat imposter, it didn't seem to care that the bullets were leaking purple blood from it. As it smiled at him watching him with those strange eyes which glowed yellow in the dark, he was taken back at how real sit was, her figure to her face was perfectly identical, the only thing George could notice was a tiny little lump on its forehead which shouldn't be there.

"Geeeeeeorge, come on, join me~"

Even its voice was perfectly like 'Kat's', his long-time partner.

"Never was one for subtlety were ya?"

George was rolling around his smoke in his mouth, enjoying the taste under the stress and blood loss, his eyes darting around the tunnel, looking for anything the red dust infused into his smokes burning brightly as it floated to the ground, hatching a plan, he looked towards the thing and opened his arms out for it.

"Sure, why the hell not?"

George noted that the freak once again looked affectionate as it practically jumped on him, kissing him obviously thinking it had lured George however with a smile George spat his smoke out his smoke towards the pipe, watching as it combusted into a beautifully big explosion, swallowing everything in its path.

And soon enough, all George saw is black as he felt intense heat consume him and the bastard.

 _[NEW MESSAGE]_

 _01:34_

 _From: Kat_

 _-George…please._

* * *

 ** _Dun-Dun-DUUUUN, I decided it's time to actually start progressing the plot, now, you may have noticed that that's not how a Genestealer Cult operates, but I had the thought while writing out the chapter and decided that it works a lot better then a conventional cult, anyone you know could be one._**

 ** _As for George, I'm actually debating keeping him alive simply because I enjoyed writing him, but at the same time I also like to kill off characters, so its a 50/50 on that one._**


	8. To Make A Monster

**M?.?**

 **Designation:** Remnant.

 **04:49**

With both his hearts rapidly throwing liquid lava around his old fractured body the Iron Sarcophagus dashed forwards, reaching speeds quite impossible for his size his many joints remaining steadfast as he flew across spires of ashen corpses faces contorted in screaming agony, each one could attribute this fate to the towering giant which marched past them not even sparing a glance as he flew onwards to the next big issue, never stopping, but always thinking, thinking of deeds long since committed and deeds yet to come, Self-reflection was a big focus of almost all Astartes and the Dreadnoughts current reflection was grim, he was a failure and it was as simple as that, maybe the only reason he hadn't entered the permanent sleep many Dreadnoughts near his age slipped into was that the Iron Sarcophagus could not rest easy with the burden of guilt on his shoulders.

And he was left wondering, what had begun this endless descending spiral into perpetual solitude, why was he, the guilty, left to walk among the living while his Brothers all fell, was he truly strong? Had he truly become an embodiment of Ferrus' Ideals? Or was he just a weakling which couldn't even face down a Witch? The Iron Sarcophagus stood still, Vale could wait. Yet he felt Rose's presence but could not discern where.

The smell of burning corpses filtered through the Contemptor Dreadnoughts helmet, that smell was as familiar as his own two heartbeats, but he could never forget how he first encountered the smell, yes, it all the way back, back when the Emperor still walked among men.

Back in a time of reason and science.

And mindless brutality.

 **M29.879**

 **Designation:** Medusa.

 **23:32**

I struggled to stand. Malnutrition wracked my small and brittle form, I could feel my bones almost breaking through my skin, my feet were coated black with Medusa's ash-like dust while volcanoes could be heard roaring in the distance making me stiffen knowing that at any moment the ground from beneath me could give way to a molten demise.

A horizon as dull coloured as the earth stood above me, sometimes I could see the Sun poke through, sometimes. I felt my eyes try and shut for what was the millionth time, I was tired, I craved sleep like a plant craves sunlight, yet it would all be denied to me, the blistering wind whipped against my exposed limbs like a sharpened blade, nothing but dirty rags were equipped to me, barely keeping my torso covered.

I brought my own two tiny palms to my face, cracked skin and missing fingernails greeted my cloudy blue eyes my tiny mind hoped that taking in every detail of my pale white hands would reveal maybe some kind of escape from the pain, it did not. needed to stay awake, everything would be fine as long as I stayed awake, everything would be fine…I…needed…to…

 ** _*SLAM*_**

I lacked the energy to even scream as a metallic foot went through the gut on my frail form kicking me a few feet into the air as I coughed up a puddle of blood onto the floor below me, without hesitating I rose to my feet even as my legs buckled under their own weight, looking at the ground unable to look my attacker square in the eye for showing weakness, but I dared not complain or voice out my pain, my attacker was a Legionnaire, and it was up to him whether I lived or died in these wastelands, my senses were back to being awake now, this was defiance, I was showing him that I could stand, that I was not weak.

He marched towards me with his armour creating a powerful thundering beat to his steps, totally muting out any other sounds, I didn't dare look upwards as nothing but a black helmet and red visor would be staring down, judging my worth with no remorse.

 **"** **Look upon me boy"**

Obediently I shot my head up only to bash my head against the Legionnaire's armoured knuckle, I fell to the floor, clutching my head as a pain shot through my skull, it hurt so much. I heard him bend down and before I knew it I was being hauled up by what remained of my dirty black hair, I tried to cry out but the most I could manage was a croak from my dehydrated throat opening my eyes I was met with the angry red eyes of his helmet looking upon me with unconcealed hatred.

Suddenly I was thrust forward into the ground getting a mouthful of dirt again and again, my count was about ten times, though I was too busy trying to hold back tears as I could feel hot warm blood run through the nose I could no longer feel, why? What had I done to deserve this? My village, my family, it was all gone and in the aftermath the Legionnaires came through, abducting the young but alive, and leading them off into the vast wastes of Medusa such was my fate.

Once my armoured captor was done he simply threw me to the side letting me accumulate all kinds of cuts and bruises, though before I had even risen again he was at my downed form raising his foot to his chest height time seemed to slow as I felt my own irises grow tiny in pure terror, a silent scream escaped my mouth my arms rising to try and stop the inevitable, and then he dropped his foot.

 ***** ** _CRACK*_**

Oh Emperor the pain I felt, it was unbearable, so bad in fact that my voice had come back just to scream and while a dust cloud swivelled around the floor, I could already feel a lack of function in my left leg, I could prominently hear my own heartbeat over everything, stopping only when my captive walked into the field of view of my heavy eyes. My body had had enough, I felt my own conscious slipping away from my being. I was numb almost everywhere.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

 **"** **Now get up"**

I barely registered his voice though I certainly felt it when another nasty but not so hard kick landed into my side, waking me up from my pain induced shock, coughing up blood I used my arms to drag me into a sitting position, and what I saw made me heave, my leg was attached by a few strings of muscle, mashed bone and flesh sprayed the ground and a fine red pool leaked fourth from it.

This was a nightmare, it had to be, this couldn't be happening, just a few days ago I had been helping my farther tend crops, now I was being broken by our so-called protectors, I refused to believe that this is what my life had been reduced to. Endless pain and suffering at the hands of Iron Giants.

 **"** **You feel the rage boy? Let it fuel you, let it help you stand"**

I felt no rage, only the feral instinct of survival wrought through my broken and beaten body, I took a grim satisfaction in knowing that his teachings passed through me unable to take hold in my mind though I was more surprised that I could hear him over my own cries still in agony, however I knew what was to come if I was to fail, gritting my teeth I clawed my broken fingers through the earth, using my knuckles to push myself up, feeling intense cramps and screaming muscles telling me to stop, but I could not as the Legionnaire was watching my plight eagerly his shadow casting fear upon my barely living body, my single intact knee buckled and gave out letting the floor embrace me with a dull thud. I was now completely dull to the giant's kicks and he yelled relentless abuse at me. Though, perhaps when I was at the very brink of unconsciousness I heard a new voice yell out, one of nobility and concern.

 **"** **Amoreys! That's enough, you've almost broken the boy"**

I could not look up, I could not move, I could only listen, knowing my tortures' name brought little solace to me for I could almost glimpse his towering form preparing itself for the coming beatings, the man who had interrupted the cycle was similarly clad in Power Armour, though instead of the pure black of the Tenth Legion this one was trimmed in many decorative iconography and trophies of previous battles, his armour was bleached in a brilliant royal purple and trimmed with a shining gold, the giant walked with purpose, his noble appearance a stark contrast to the usual dark rank and file of the Tenth. Though I was too busy clinging to life to know that this was another Legionnaire, this time of the Third Legion the Children of the Emperor, He looked down at me not with pity, but rather concern.

 **"** **Nonsense Merek, this is but a test of Will, unlike your Brotherhood we of the Tenth scrutinise weakness in all forms, this is the eradication of it"**

"Why"

The two giants looked down at me, their helmets offering no sort of indication as to what their reaction was only two red pairs of slits masked their judgemental gazes, I could only guess that by their silence they had not expected the broken child to speak up to them under in his wounded condition and before another word could be muttered the two giants looked to one another as if perplexed by the situation before them, clearly our defenders were not trained in the art of social skills. Though before I could force a smile at my rebellious cheek I felt myself being lifted by my arms.

It was the Purple Legionnaire, Merek, he brought me up to eye level with him, the inside of his giant armoured palms was uncomfortable and hard, but I was too far gone to care the golden trimmings on his helmet could probably blind a man if given the chance to reflect enough sunlight, through squinted tired eyes I could make out tiny little pieces of art carved into the very top layers of his helmet, it was rather beautiful.

 **"** **Tell me boy, what is your name?"**

I smiled, at least my torturer would have a name to haunt him

"Crimun"

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant.**

 **05:02**

 **[+ We must go +]**

The Iron Sarcophagus had wasted no time in tracking down Summer, finding her in a strange tiled room which smelled pleasant, scooping her in his Powerfist he ran through the wall not caring as the rubble slowly showered him and Summer, his dark black armour being coated in a fine layer of brick and as he sprinted at high speeds into the dark wilderness past smouldering corpse towers he only briefly took note of the aghast face looking up at him he cared little, he had a clear-cut objective.

Save Summer's Daughters.

"Crimu-"

 **[+ Do not call me by that name +]**

"That flashback you had…I felt it, Oum, what did they do to you…"

The Iron Sarcophagus let out an obnoxious snort of disgust briefly staring down to meet Summers' now concerned expression he simply could not understand her, why was she concerned over his past weakness? He was strong now. As the trees became a blur, the Dreadnought already knew by instinct he knew where Vale was, those mutant's memories being laid out like a map before him, suddenly though he felt a weight on his chest, it was Summer, the side of her head resting against him. Eyes closed

 **[+ Do you care so little of your kin that you're taking a nap through their impending doom? +]**

"That's not what I'm doing"

 **[+ Then what are you doing +]**

"I'm counting your heartbeats"

The Dreadnought became silent, he was perplexed at the actions of humans, they did strangest things, though he couldn't put much thought into as he was doing his best to power through the knee-deep snow, nothing but the sound of his stomping legs filling the air, the black sky slowly cracking as a sun bathed the white canvas of the landscape gold the frigid air not affecting him nor his companion. This was bad, he was still a great distance from Vale, he was closer to the place these humans called Atlas, they were next on his list.

 **[+ This is not going to work +]**

" I know, though, what if I told you I could get us to Vale in but a mere second "

 **[+ I would suggest you make haste and show me then +]**

"All in good time, though, I wanted to ask you a favour before we go"

 **[+ You have already bound my life to yours, even if I refuse you will most likely make me suffer for it +]**

"No, this isn't like that, I want you to agree to it"

 **[+ Then what is it? +]**

"When the opportunity arises, let me hug you, Crimun"

 **[+ I told you not to call me by that name +]**

"I know…but that's not your name neither is that who you are is it Iron Sarcaphagus?"

 **[+ No, it's not +]**

"Well?"

…

 **[+ I see no harm in it +]**

The Iron Sarcophagus suddenly felt a spout of nausea and unease, the world around him seemed to be physically melting, as if the sun itself was scorching the earth, even the floor below him was melting, taking him with it, while looking down he saw that Summer was exerting a bright red aura no doubt having something to do with the bizarre phenomenon he was experiencing, around him and himself everything liquidating into a black state of nothingness.

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant.**

 **11:04**

The last thing he could see was the fading of reality itself into a perpetual nothing and everything and then that was it, they were in the middle of some unnamed village, the aftermath of a slaughter, raised banners hailing the coming of the Cult, and not a single life was left untouched as bodies of the residents were manned on pikes, whatever had transpired here had long since passed.

The two were blinked into existence in the middle of it all, burning shacks and huts left a plume of black smoke rising into the air, this wasn't Vale, at least, not within the central Kingdom yet the warm air and vast open fields was a dead giveaway, Summer had not detected any living beings within the ruins and sure enough, she was right, though there was one who was a fare distance away from the whole village, not a threat. The Dreadnought had second guessed Summer however and had insisted upon making sure that any dangers that could lurk in the shadows of such a ruin went noticed, and lo and behold, she was right, nothing, just another cradle of life snuffed from existence.

The Village itself was not far away from the kingdom, merely a few miles from the main walls it was concerning that this had not been covered up, the Iron Sarcophagus had concluded that the uprising was in full swing meaning the mutants were actively staging a war in the streets of everything remotely linked to Vale, it was Man vs Mutant. The Dreadnought could not wait to bring the Emperor's judgement upon the disgusting monstrosities, he alone would kill them all.

"…"

 **[+ What is it? +]**

The Dreadnought was no fool, the talkative Rose had barely uttered a word since their arrival, only pointing out that no mutants remained in the area, the two had been silently gazing upon the destruction left by the enemies of man, he could only guess that she was alienated by the horrors of the 41st Millennium, the mass butchering of the defenceless she would be stronger for having faced it all.

He was about to leave her be when suddenly he violently parried a unseen blade which had struck from the shadows, deflecting the secretive attack in a way that only an Astartes could, his senses quickly heightening at the sudden copious adrenaline flowing through his molten lava veins he could, he saw angry crimson eyes of a human staring at him with malicious rage, ashen hair unkept and unwashed stood in place with sweat glinting of the man's forehead. His sword was unnaturally strong for a primitive weapon, as he would find out when the man's sheer rage had allowed him to briefly pass the Space Marines guard and put a dent in his shoulder.

Cursing his mistake, the Iron Sarcophagus went on the offensive, striking forward with blow after blow from his Power Fist, the man was fast, almost at the speed of a Eldar, unluckily for him, the Dreadnoughts Visual Receptors were locking on to him by the second, every little dodge and blow in his dance was slowly building a picture.

 ***CLANG***

Twice now the dent had been hit, the man's attack was relentless, the Dreadnought could almost feel the sheer rage exerted with each strike, when this would happen The Iron Sarcophagus would clear room using his Flamer, the burning hot promethium separating the two all as Summer was sporting a look of absolute shock, her irises smaller than a bead. And the man however was all too oblivious to his fatal mistake that the Astartes could capitalise on, and that would be his recklessness.

As the man moved at blinding speeds around the body of the Dreadnought, he had allowed himself to fall into a pattern of movement, one that only a machine could predict and counter, one that the Dreadnought would exploit, and so it was, with a mighty crash, the man had been punched along the village pavement, the scraping of flesh against stone would take the flesh off a normal human, but he wasted no time, he quickly rose up, not at all concerned at his injury, just those menacing eyes locking with the helmet of the Iron Sarcophagus, Summer barely whimpering out a single word.

"Q-Qrow"

 **"** **GIVE HER BACK YOU BASTARD!"**

 **[+ I will end you +]**

The two charged across the village locking themselves in a bloody duel.

* * *

 ** _The Iron Sarcophagus_**

 **M 6"**

 **WS 2+**

 **BS 2+**

 **S 7**

 **T 7**

 **W 5**

 **A 5**

 **Ld 9**

 **Sv 3+**

 **WEAPONS**

 **Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon: _24", S 7, AP -1, D 1._**

 **Heavy Flamer: _8", S 5, AP -1, D 1,_ _This weapon automatically hits its target._**

 **The Iron Hand: _S x2, AP -5, D D3, When attacking with this weapon you must subtract 1 from the hit roll._**

 ** _ABILITIES_**

 **And They Shall Know No Fear: _The Iron Sarcophagus may reroll failed Morale Tests._**

 **Iron Halo: _The Iron Sarcophagus has a 4+ Invulnerable Save._**

 **Triumvirate of Remnant:** _ **When the Iron Sarcophagus is reduced to 0 Wounds, if he is within 8" of both Summer Rose and _ roll a D6, on a roll of 3+ The Iron Sarcophagus is placed back on the field, he must be placed within 6" of Summer Rose and 9" away from the nearest enemy with D3 Wounds remaining, if this is not possible The Iron Sarcophagus is removed from play.**_

 **Survivor of the Dropsite Massacre** _ **: The Iron Sarcophagus inspires those around him into ever greater acts of defiance against overwhelming odds, all units within 6" of the Iron Sarcophagus may use his Leadership instead of their own.**_

 **Bane of Weakness: _If an Enemy Infantry Unit fails a Morale Test within 16" of The Iron Sarcophagus, you may attempt to target that Unit with the Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon before they escape, each Attack used subtracts one from his next turn, if you successfully defeat the targeted Unit, all Units within "10 of The Iron Sarcophagus must subtract 1 from their next Hit and Wound Roll_**


	9. I Am The Judge

_**I'm sorry to say that the production of Contemptor Savior will be slowing down from now on, it's not that I'm not working on it, its simply that I'm now balancing Work and College at once so I only get a few hours each day to work the Story, my apologies, again, this is not a hiatus, I'm simply just working on it at slower pace from now on -GreenDo**_

* * *

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Remnant**

 **11:20**

The man was foolish.

This was not a revelation nor a theory, he had already deduced that the moment he gazed upon the man's weapon flimsily scraping off his ceramite plating, his breathing was irregular and quick, already fatigued, he had been in a great rush to get here though how he had known where they would appear was unknown, however it would not be an issue, the battle was dumbly one sided.

They looked each other straight in the eye a 10,000 Millenia old killing machine and a Veteran Huntsman without peer, the only similarity they shared was the very air of malice seeping fourth from them both corrupting the very atmosphere, Summer watched dumbfounded, shocked, unable to comprehend the sight, this was a good thing.

The Iron Sarcophagus would not be limited, nor inhibited by a worry that he would be paralysed by the Witch, the shackles binding him to her were if only temporarily severed and he would relish in his freedom, no more playing around her like some kind of companion or friend, the very words felt like venom on his decrepit tongue almost as venomous as the mere man had made him by attempting to subdue him with that jest of a sword. His pride as an Astartes had been dealt a blow and he would not allow that to go unpunished.

The man's eyes were red and the Dreadnought could only wonder if his blood would take on that same shade of crimson when he tore the man limb from limb, he had eyed the Contemptor Dreadnought with absolute disgust and the feeling was mutual, but that utter aberration was allowing the man to make slight dents in his armoured form it was not a great threat but it did concern the Iron Sarcophagus that some of the humans possessed ample means of dispatching him unlike the cowardly Witch, it would be a death by a thousand cuts.

Revving his Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon the Iron Sarcophagus watched in glee as the man struggled to avoid his pinpoint accuracy, having to let his Aura absorb most of the barrage of lead, the Dreadnought knew exactly how these Aura fields worked, he knew they could be overloaded, he knew an impact could be so strong that it went right through it, he also knew how to completely nullify a person from it, in fact, he knew how to disable it for everyone on this planet and in due time, he would. Though for now it would work to circumvent the coming Great Devourer.

The man had once again struck his frame moving at blinding speeds for humans, the Aura Field allowed these people to achieve great feats they could hit harder, move faster perceive more, oh how they were all so truly weak, and yet they had no idea. Suddenly though the man has ceased his worthless assault and backed away from the Iron Sarcophagus as a massive spark rippled in the area surrounding the Dreadnought who had stopped firing in amusement, the man's grey top had caught flame and he was rubbing it to try and quell the ember, what had caused the flame was not his doing but rather it was the man's own stupidity, reaching such speeds had made the Dreadnought's Iron Halo flare, mistaking the man for a bullet it had almost successfully vaporised him where he stood.

This 'Qrow' seemed unfazed by his folly and brashly continued his useless assault, the Iron Sarcophagus easily countering every blow with his energy infused fist, the Qrow would be put on the defensive with every single trade, unable to match the Dreadnoughts raw power and suffered from it greatly, he had dared a parry against the mighty weapon dubbed The Iron Hand, unfortunately his weapon and him had been cast many feet across the village, barrelling into one of the many smouldering wreckages once belonging to the long gone cult.

He could not win, and they both knew this, but Qrow was not looking to win this fight, he just needed to separate Summer from this THING, he was really regretting not sticking around for Ozpin's briefing but the minute he had mentioned her name all he had demanded was the whereabouts, an old Atlas facility which had supposedly been abandoned for years according to Ironwood, not so it seemed, Ozpin's only request was to investigate a number of villages which had been going dark outside of Vale's walls on his way there, though the minute he had set foot here, he could sense her, her Aura was like a beacon above everything else, anyone with even the faintest grasp of it could feel her presence and Qrow knew better then all just who that was.

Strangely though he felt weak, it was barely noticeable to him, the keyword being barely as he felt his very life being slowly being syphoned away by something and it wasn't the stupidly powerful weapons of his foe Qrow couldn't even feel any Aura coming from the behemoth when he hit its armoured frame, no, what was happening here was far greater than then the two of them. Qrow slid under the monster's legs just as that damned fist came down and sent a shockwave which through the area throwing the hunter off balance before he could strike what appeared to be joint, causing his sword to uselessly scrape against whatever metal the thing was made of making sparks fly out and evaporate uselessly.

"JUST STAND STILL YOU BASTARD"

 **[+ Your insults will do credit to your demise +]**

The two were circling each other, Qrow had changed his sword into a Scythe and was circling the Iron Sarcophagus who was pointing his Flamer at Qrow, he could now clearly see it, in the centre of the Dreadnought was a gaping hole, dried blood was plastered around it, the metal twisted and eroded, that was a wound. That was his weak spot. Crouching into a running stance Qrow's opponent replied by bringing the Assault Cannon to bare, the six barrels of doom threatening Qrow, but he had faith, he knew he could reach that weak spot in half a second all he needed was an opening, the monster knew what he was doing and was adopting a stance of pointing both Fist and Cannon at him, eager to not let him through, any, second, now.

She was struck by memories.

The Iron Sarcophagus' Assault Cannon jammed.

Qrow lurched forward, almost breaking his legs at the speed he undertook, feet trying desperately not to skid along the floor and weapon poised perfectly at the opening. Burning flame was scolding him as he jutted forward, letting his Aura soak it in for him, a smile overtook him, through the flame which engulfed his vision he had won, his semblance had worked and created that opening he desperately needed, any second the flame would be clearing to show the exposed torso of his prey.

She was coming to terms with memories.

And so, it was a look of pure horror which overtook the Huntsmen's face when the flames dissipated and all which Qrow could see was a large metallic hand poised to grab him, glowing blue with force he couldn't comprehend. His irises could barely shrink before he was lifted from the ground with power which sent his whole body churning even through his protective shielding. From the flames he rose, coming face to face with the red eyes of an unbreakable monster, staring down at him with masked disdain. And then a thought occurred to Qrow, he was trapped and as he uselessly squirmed the Dreadnought let loose a dark chuckle, staring into the man's very soul.

 **[+ We have a rallying cry you know, me and my brothers +]**

 **She could see again**

There were more of these freaks? Qrow was struggling to keep air flowing through him as the enclosed fist he was in slowly closed, threatening to choke the man, though feeling witty as always, Qrow decided to play along with the monster before he broke free and carved its head away.

"Enlighten me"

Suddenly he was jerked onto his back, all he could see was the clouds and the glowing red eyes of his holder, he felt himself go closer to the ground, he was struggling to see but what he witnessed made him redouble his efforts of escape, flaring his Aura to try and activate his Semblance and get him out of this mess. below him a knee protruded forth perfectly positioned under his spine, the metallic knee belonged to the metal beast.

He felt himself become lifted up more just so he could see directly into the face of his enemy and really take in the pure terror that the helmet could project.

 **[+ The Flesh, is Weak +]**

And then all he knew was pain.

The Iron Sarcophagus never knew humans could scream so loud.

Qrow was lying on the dusty pavement crying in pure agony, Qrow couldn't feel his legs and his lungs struggled to take in enough air, hitting the pavement with his fists did little to nullify the intense pain, the Iron Sarcophagus stood over him watching his struggle with a tilted head, he had not expected the man to yield so easily to pain, he had only gone and broke his spine completely overloading his Aura with a single burst of strength, it was a rather pathetic sight, he had seen Krieg Korpsmen and Tempestus Scions shoot Lasrifles with half their bodies blown off this was just an insult to the gritty determination Mankind inspired.

 **[+** **Your Aura has abandoned you, and yet all you do is scream, pathetic +]**

The Dreadnought leaned down, staring Qrow straight in the eye even through his ragged breathing and pained expression he still looked up and met the gaze of the Iron Sarcophagus, that pure hatred and resentment was burning deep within those eyes, the Dreadnought let out a chuckle as he watched Qrow try to rise, there was irony to this, picking him up by his unkept hair the Iron Sarcophagus tossed him carelessly across the village, he didn't know if he would survive that, it mattered not.

His body seized up, the Dreadnought couldn't move, Aura swelled all around him shifting and fading but always hugging his form preventing him from moving his body, with a snarl he turned around to see a sight that made him visibly flinch, not from fear, an Astartes would never know fear, this was something else, Summer's hood was no longer concealing her face, steely silver eyes bore into him with anger, not as harsh as the eyes which Qrow would stare at him with, this was more a look a disappointment, she had a striking resemblance to her daughter, in fact, the she didn't look much older than her, no doubt an effect of her condition.

 **"** **That's enough"**

That was a demand, and while it hurt his pride to listen to her, the Iron Sarcophagus had sworn a pact with her Summer upholding it would bring him more honour than disobeying, and so against the feral rage which flowed through the blood of all Space Marines the Dreadnought showed restraint and yielded his assault, though he wouldn't forget the damage this Qrow had done to him, those dents may never be fixed. For now, he would be content to watch.

Through half-conscious eyes Qrow reached up and placed a hand on Summer face through the pain he let loose a smile, and for the first time in a long time he allowed himself to shed a few tears. He tasted blood in his mouth and quickly coughed violently as it leaked onto the ground, still, he smiled.

"It's really you"

Summer was on the verge of tears as well, it had been a long time since she had even glimpsed her family, she couldn't help herself, she pulled Qrow into an embrace, her hand rested on his spine, and slowly she began to channel her ever present Aura into the wounded Huntsman, she had to be strong, if not for Remnant, then for her family, and Oum how she wanted to see them all again, but such things were beyond her.

Qrow's face was briefly a look of horror as Summer rested a glowing palm on his head and the man quickly fell unconcious though not before uttering a single question. All before his memories and wounds were washed away in a heavy tide of Aura.

"Why?"

Summer completely broke down at those words, leaning into him and crying, the Dreadnought stood behind her with an invisible confused expression masked by his helmet, he had actually never seen a human cry, he knew they did it, he had even seen Space Marines cry, the sheer sadness that befell his cousins in the Blood Angels after the Great Heresy was horrific, but not regular humans, he knew not how to respond to her, though he couldn't imagine she would want to talk to him after what he did to the man, he held no regrets, the fool had brought it on himself.

Huffing the walking weapon turned towards the towering walls of Vale in the distance, he began his march, she would follow no doubt, but for now he would continue his mission of exterminating the vile Mutants and for once he would be glad to drench himself in the blood of His enemies. He glanced down at his Assault Cannon as he marched, something unnatural had occurred in that fight, it never jams, never, the large weapon allowed for even he to perform maintenance and he kept his entire arsenal pristine in condition, as he marched he stole one last look at the downed Qrow, something about this Aura field wasn't right.

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Vale, Outer Wall**

 **23:00**

The two walked toghether silently through the vast plains of dry grass and dead shrubbery which littered the perimeter of the Kingdom, they had followed a trail of corpses all the way to the edge of the Wall, the Iron Sarcophagus watched Dark Ones which mimicked the shape of Terra's ancient Vultures fly off after picking clean what appeared to be a human, the Dreadnought knew better, he could smell the putrid stench of alien coming forth from the half picked corpse.

He saw plumes of black smoke echo forth from within the Unmanned Walls, the Vale was ablaze, with a grunt the Iron Sarcophagus pointed to the plumes and spoke down to his silent companion, she had once again concealed her face with her hood.

 **[+ Do you see that Rose? The Alien dream is to dance on the grave of Mankind +]**

The Dreadnought had to be careful not to let his rage overflow into his voice, instead he spoke with knowing, he had faced them all, he had killed them all and he would continue to do so until his time came to meet his Primarch once again in the great beyond, he balled his fist and watched as his Power Fist, the Iron Hand swelled with force as he could only picture himself using it to taste Mutant blood.

"Hmm"

Summer simply nodded not yet coming to terms with the fact that her companion had almost beat Qrow to death with such little remorse, she would be having words with him later, the act of wiping the memories of someone as close to her as him scarred her immensely, it pained her, but she once again reminded herself of their mission, they would save Remnant, toghether as a team. Though that didn't mean she forgave him, and she could tell by the Dreadnoughts feelings towards her that he also did not harbour much trust.

They were both as bad as each other she supposed.

As the Contemptor Dreadnought walked forwards he noticed that Summer was not following, turning he made to take a knee so that he could see eye to eye with a troubled face dotted with vacant silver eyes, to get her attention he unclasped his helmet and briefly lifted it just enough to let his Bionic Eyes shine from under the darkness that the inside of the helmet provided, this got her attention.

 **"** **I won't apologise you know"**

"I know, it's just…that was way out of order"

 **"** **Maybe it was, but I was not just defending myself, I was defending the honour of my Chapter Rose, Humans struggle to understand just how precious to us our Chapter is and the weight of our actions, even when not fighting under its banner reflect heavily upon it, even now I risk it by not finishing the one you know of as 'Qrow'"**

"So, it's like a family?"

 **"** **I suppose"**

The Dreadnought had never really thought of it that way, in some ways it has the qualities of what one would call a family, but a Chapter was a Chapter not a family, families don't leave their weak for death, either way, the reply seemed to have made Summer cheer up and maybe even help loosen the tension as he made note of her yawn, maybe this is what is socially referred to as 'Common Ground' they both owed a lot to those they now protected.

"You know, that's the longest thing I think you've said since landing here"

At this the Astartes let himself a small chuckle to himself, he was rather few with words, words didn't win wars though, and he knew this, and so he turned towards the burning city, helmet equipped and Assault Cannon cleaned he was going to enact the Emperors Will, suddenly he lost sight of Summer, and after a few seconds he noticed quiet breathing coming from above him.

And so, the Contemptor Dreadnought renewed his advance on the Kingdom, his companion softly sleeping atop his armoured form, maybe the two didn't get along, and true enough one would rather off the other, but the Dreadnought felt a strange sensation completely Alien to him within himself. Alien is bad, Xeno is bad, it must all be purged, and so within himself he threw out those feelings before they could take root, letting his rage fuel him as he marched towards the distant walls now being only a few miles away.

Summers eyes had been open through this, content to just take in what the Dreadnought was feeling through her Aura, and what she felt concerned her to the core, how could someone be so cruel as to indoctrinate a human to hate and discard the feelings of Friendship, Understanding and Love within themselves.

She had a feeling that this 'Chapter' wasn't as close to a family as her companion believed.


	10. Fog

**M41.999**

 **Murus, The Outermost Planet in Remnants System.**

The layers between Space and Time were fragile in the 41st Millennium, the layers were like a piece of over handled paper, many crinkles and cracks appeared in the very fabric of its makeup the reason as to what was damaging these layers of natural laws was a place called the Warp, a place that was, is and always will be a flooding tide of raw emotion given form in the post death of Men, Aliens and Gods, all meant nothing and something within its infinite flowing tide. The churning and uncaring tide once again ripped apart, spewing fourth something most profound, a single vessel, smouldering and blackened donned in a thick coat of flames, warning sirens sounded fourth from the many thousands of airlocks which made up its wreathing form, explosions sounded across the entire hull, splitting and fragmenting the many parts thus injecting them into deep Space where they were at the mercy of fate. The only identifiable feature of this dying machine was a large skull icon almost completely charred black though it seemed purposeful, as the very other side of the skull was coated white.

* * *

 **M?.?**

 **Designation: Vale**

It was a bloodbath to the Citizens of Vale everyone was turning on each other with Shanks, Bats and Guns the streets were littered with bodies of both Atlesian Soldiers and Vale's populace while an organised force of seemingly random people had banded toghether under the icon a three armed deity going street to street and slaughtering everything not revealing itself as part of the Cult, none could stem the makeshift army as they marched towards Beacon as enemies through themselves at the Defenders both from within and without.

The seeds planted by the Cult had finally sprouted and were in full bloom, and the Genestealers were ready to reap.

The Iron Sarcophagus had made his way through the walls at a terrifyingly slow pace thanks to the Mutants mostly guising themselves as Humans and claiming innocence in the presence of the Space Marine the Contemptor Dreadnought would rather kill them all just to be sure he was rid of the problem it was at this however that Summer had revealed that she could identify the difference between regular Humans and the Mutants, though the Dreadnought always made sure to leave a few Atleasian Soldiers dead as a result of his Assault Cannon's 'misfiring', he did not take lightly to thieves however they were but another mark on the Dreadnoughts long list of grudges.

"That one"

The Genestealer quickly dashed at Summer with a crude knife bearing its fangs which it had tried to conceal screaming all the while throwing its entire body at her though it was in vain as the mutants began to shrink when it's target seemingly faded out of existence and it fell into the waiting Power Fist of the Dreadnought, the Astartes lifted the squirming monstrosity to meet his gaze they had found this one just lying in a pool of blood in what appeared to be an airport of sorts hugging the edge of the Kingdom's Walls, this single creature had murdered an entire room of people, the idea of weakness made the Iron Sarcophagus angry, these Genestealers were the epitome of that, cowards that festered in the shadows out of sight, preying on the unsuspecting until they had enough numbers to overwhelm their opponents.

" _Kill me then, but you will never stop the coming of the great Tartarus"_ it roared with the look of a madman gleefully awaiting its fate.

 _*_ _ **SLAM***_

 **[+ Do not+]**

 ** _*SLAM*_**

 **[+ Violate our language +]**

 ** _*SLAM*_**

 **[+ With your tongue +]**

 ***SLAM***

 **[+ MUTANT +]**

Summer cringed a little as she saw the Dreadnought use the Genestealer's body as a mace viciously slamming it against the floor, crushing it again and again as what was once resembling a humanoid male quickly became nothing but a pile of goo leaking out from the Sarcophagus' gauntlet. Summer briefly had to mute out the Dreadnoughts feelings as that inhuman rage threatened to once again consume her, she shuddered to imagine what a large force of Astartes could do to an enemy, an enemy she cared little for, if he did this to maybe a member of the White Fang she would intervene to save the poor creature the pain, but she couldn't care less what happened to the Genestealers as in Summer's eyes this was simply karma.

Summer walked up to the Dreadnought and tapped his leg and watched as the Iron Sarcophagus turned around, his helmet completely soaked in blood, yet its glowing irises still shined out onto her, Summer noticed the Space Marine seem to realise what he had done as he quickly shook his head as if emerging from a trance.

"That was a bit overboard don't you think?" Summer inquired as she stared up at the unmoving giant.

 **[+ I will end them all +]** The Astartes' voice carried pure malice and contempt with his pledge.

"…You don't say"

…

As the two slowly cleared out the area surrounding the immediate wall of threats they made their way up through the town, seeing much destruction upon the way, burning homes, crumbled apartments and looted shops, more banners were raised in the cults name along the streets, the Iron Sarcophagus burning them all with his Flamer but besides from a few lone Genestealers the town was eerily deserted, every fibre of his being screamed ambush, no, it was a certainty that there was something lurking in these streets, the Dreadnought was half expecting a squad of Alpha Legion Tactical Dreadnoughts to emerge from the ruins, Summer was silent walking alongside the Dreadnought, in her mind she was scanning the area for any kind of Aura's and while she felt none even the seasoned Huntress knew better than that, there should at least be a few wandering Cultists walking about, instead the duo were greeted by silence.

 **[+ We are not alone +]**

"That should be impossible, my Aura would bounce off them giving away their position" Summer was forming beads of sweat on her forehead, she felt a deep sense of dread in these streets, the Iron Sarcophagus seemed to be just as cautious, scooping her into his giant palm and priming his Assault Cannon.

The Dreadnought took a step forward, his foot leaving an indented footprint on the rubble he walked through. the buildings loomed menacingly overhead as the two's eyes were darting in every possible angle.

The Iron Sarcophagus took another step forward, Summer wanted to leave, this wasn't right, why did she feel danger when there is nothing there? Her mind raced through the possibilities when suddenly she clutched her head shaking wildly falling into what could only be described as a seizure all while a terrible pain arched through her entire body, banging on the Dreadnought's hull for any kind of help as she screamed in pure agony, though the Astartes didn't know what to do, he felt the hole in his chest begin to gape open once more.

They were dying, something was killing Summer and thus endangering the Astartes, he glanced up and down the street once more and decided to take a step back, if this was a weapon then he would simply move out of its range before he fell to its effects so he continued to briskly takings steps backwards along the route they came, never taking his eyes off the roads, waiting for any kind of threat to make an appearance, suddenly his helmet identified a distant footsteps not one of a man, but rather one of a beast in sync with this an artificial fog began rolling in through the streets blinding the Dreadnought.

Summer could barely contain her screams, she felt her very being be torn apart by some incorporeal force, looking through her memories and warping her perception of events, every fibre of her was busy channelling as much Aura as possible into building a barrier to keep it out, Summer allowed herself to slip into an unconscious state as best to combat it, yet that horrible agony followed her. Even as she guarded herself with memories of her family, her precious Ruby, whatever was assaulting her mind seemed to gaze upon these memories with interest, even as she wrestled it away. She decided to make a push against it, putting the invader on the defence though not before presenting it with an opportunity to strike deeper into her own mind.

Even as she wrestled it she saw her own memories being played before her, and that meant the attacker would also be seeing these snippets of life gliding around her, gritting her teeth, Summer psychically parried the blow after blow with her Aura, using the openings to dive deep into the attackers mind, now, with a undefended opening, the Huntress struck, delving inside her oppenents mind, names and places she had never seen before were hers to view, creatures clad in chitin with an insatiable hunger caressing planets with arms the size of stars, and then all she knew was despair for what she saw caused the Huntress to gasp, that brief moments of weakness pushing her on the very end of her psychic defence, she needed to wake up, she needed to warn the Dreadnought of the magnitude of what was to come, yet she was stuck in unconsciousness and could do nothing but defend herself against the creature's redoubled assault. It did not like what she had saw.

…

Yellow slits appeared in the fog and the Astartes glared outwards to see the approaching creature, its outline showing its height to be twice that of the Dreadnought, making it able to stand next to Imperial Knights, those same eyes glared down at the Iron Sarcophagus with an intent to kill he had only ever seen before in the eyes of the Traitors. Next, he heard the damn thing laugh, a laugh which seemed to resemble neither male nor female yet remaining to sound somehow human. The creature lumbered towards them, he could make out what looked to be arms supporting the beast by dragging themselves across the ruined buildings, as it approached Summer's convulsions only seemed to worsen, the Iron Sarcophagus took a few more steps back, revving his Assault Cannon, the Dreadnought fired off a few shots to test the creature, it seemed to stumble slightly but its advance was not stopped.

He couldn't fight like this, babysitting his lifeline while his own guts spilled out onto the floor, an Astartes did not know fear, but the years upon years of tactical indoctrination had taught the Dreadnought to strive for victory above all else, but he could not flee, no, a Space Marine must be steadfast, unflinching and always willing to enact the Emperor's will, yet he could not efficiently fight like this.

With Summer convulsing and the creature advancing the Iron Sarcophagus unleashed fury with his Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon letting his weapon roar through the mist and striking upon the unseen creature whenever it would show it's outline through fog which the Dreadnought knew the creature had a part in, it seemed numb to his weapon, but the constant stream of firepower allowed the Dreadnought to keep the creature stunned while he backed away down the ruined street however it would not last as the creature unleashed a banshee like wait, emanating enough force that carried auto mobiles down the street at lighting speed one crashing into the Dreadnought and bending around his right leg as it failed to move the Astartes.

The Iron Sarcophagus acted on impulse, using the wind to his advantage he turned and threw Summer with force as far as he could, he cared not where she landed, he knew her witchcraft would keep her in the living plain and her pain would leave her stronger, but now he was free, free from constraint, free of annoyances it was just him and this abomination, he could almost smile, he scanned the fog using his prey vision and witnessed the abominations true form through the fog, a large bulbous head which mimicked the anatomy of a brain, and jutted spine which reminded the Sarcophagus of a Mechandrite Hive though instead of many appendages of metal the creatures spine jutted down into a whip like tail reminiscent of the Maulerfiend what was disturbing however was how thin it was, barely the width of the Dreadnought yet standing at the height of an Imperial Knight, yet it was so disturbing thin, like a frail elder or a malnourished orphan however those presumptions were soon fouled as the Iron Sarcophagus saw those limbs become needle like claws at the end of what resembled hands and feet.

It's mimicry of mankind's perfect form enraged the Contemptor feeling ancient and powerful energy swirl through his very fist he readied his charge.

 **Brutish and brash, His angels self-righteously put thousands to dust.**

A voice in his head, alien and mutant filled him with rage he did not stop, words would not sway the Space Marine, it's every syllable filling the Angel of Death with the hate to exterminate it's very being.

 **Yet they can do little to stem their own affinity for the unknown, their thirst for greatness.**

The Dreadnought penetrated the fog, letting fury guide his approach, no foul obstruction could rid the raw wrath of His servants on their eternal mission, closer he drew coming before the creature's legs, gazing up he saw what resembled eyes, three, and they all stared dejectedly down at the Dreadnought with what he saw was a mild curiosity. Roaring, the Iron Sarcophagus charged at the creature, smashing his Power Fist into the creature's leg, the lumbering mutant stumbled as it's leg was bent in unnatural ways, but oddly enough he made no scream nor any kind of vocal sound that would indicate that it had acknowledged the pain, the Iron Hands' Astartes cared little, they were weak while he was strong, and they would all crumble under his righteous fury.

 **Our many hands reach onto your realms offering vindication, but they are met with contempt, YOUR contempt.**

Silently, the Dreadnought cut down the creature like a rotten tree, it's alien whispers a blight to his very conscious, using his Flamer the Dreadnought let the foul abomination alight with seething flames, no sound, just the sharp snaps of the flames reacting with the creature's unholy flesh catching it like predators catch prey, ensnaring the creature in a cage of its own skin. Yet it had not moved from since when the Iron Sarcophagus had landed blows on the mutant, it just stared at him as it slowly withered away into ash, and he met its gaze with his own stare, just another mark off his long, long, list of grudges.

The creature doubled over with barely a sound given the size of the creature, it's three eyes being peeled away by layers of flame, yet for as long as they still existed, they maintained eye contact with the Dreadnought, silently judging the Astartes as the Iron Sarcophagus ripped one of the creatures claws off for scratching his Chassis on its way down.

Turning around, the Iron Sarcophagus made his way back through the fog riddled streets of Vale, in search of his reluctant companion wherever she had landed, a fine layer of ash drifting through the air with him. The thick layer of fog persistent, following him as he went...all until his limbs ceased up, unable to move the gaping hole in his chest opening wholeheartedly and bleeding perfidiously onto the misty ground, he wanted to double over, to clutch it, why had Summer betrayed him? What had incited this betrayal. The Iron Sarcophagus trembled with pure rage, and through the ash coated mist his questions were answered. Stumbling through the mist, clutching ruined buildings and a limp in its legs was the abomination he had purged but a few seconds ago.

As it approached he heard a faint, deep ringing in his ears, the exact sound came from the mutant's brain-resembling head, it only dawned now to the Iron Sarcophagus that it was a potent psyker, for the Dreadnought had become accustomed to alien whispers, unable to tell if they were the effects of battle or something far sinister. The creature sat down cross legged in front of the Dreadnought, using its foul abilities to lift him into the air to its eye level as his innards developed a fine red puddle underneath him.

 **The ramifications of your actions hold you now, just as they have chained you to an existence of slaughter. Crimun of Medusa. We can offer onto you and mankind the chalice of immortality, all you must do, is drink.**

The Dreadnought fired off his helmet, letting ashen air stain his war torn remains, his bionic eyes gazing straight into that of the mutant, adolescent recognition appearing on the timeless warrior's lips for that was all it could appear on.

" **Look upon me Mutant, look upon my bones, my rotting flesh and my bionics, I have been thrice damned by this galaxy and all its writhing darkness, you have all inflicted wounds upon me, my Legion and my species, I would rather take my own life then ever willingly give myself up to you foul abominations** "

 **Are you not tired? Crimun? 10,000 years of grief and wounding, do you not want to let it all go and know eternal peace? Your Emperor barely understood how this galaxy truly works, we will protect you all, mankind will nevermore know suffering.**

 **"** **You are mistaken foul creature, it is you, who does not understand how this galaxy works, it is humanities, and humanities ONLY, you and the rest of your insidious kind have no quarter in HIS realm, look upon my form once more, emissary of the Great Devourer, I am the Iron Sarcophagus, the Angel of Death, And I Know no Fear."**

The Iron Sarcophagus could only smile as the creature impaled him on its claws, he had made it give up, and that was enough for him, and true to his pledge, the Contemptor Dreadnought did not even blink as the creature's claws cleaved the Astartes head clean off, and in one final act of Space Marine defiance, spat a mouthful of liquid acid into the unflinching creature's eyes, the Sarcophagus had fallen.

…

Summer awoke drenched in sweat, something had just gone wrong, very wrong her nose began to bleed as she felt the repercussions of her psychic scourge, but it didn't hurt as much as the feeling of desperate loneliness which gripped at her, and in a split second she realised her worst fears, she couldn't feel him.


End file.
